A Good Influence
by Andromiel
Summary: Yaoi, AU RxS GIFT. A program for troubled teens. Riku. A 'bad seed'. Sora. A cheerful boy. Leon. A lone ice prince. One too many secrets.
1. School

**[Title]** A Good Influence  
**[Author]** Andro  
**[Rating]** Light R  
**[Warnings]** Yaoi, cursing, probably mentions of drug abuse and violence. It's not really as bad as it sounds though. o_o;  
**[Type]** Alternate Universe, yaoi, general, romance, angst, comedy.  
**[Couples]** RikuSora, milkd LeonSora and more.  
**[Discalimer]** I don't own Kingdom Hearts, or anything pretty much.  
**[Author Notes]**  
1. A sort of thanks to Uzumaki-sama. I don't think I would have posted this fic here if it weren't for her. o_o;   
  
2. Thanks to anyone who revies ahead of time.  
  
3. I'll try not to bash Kairi, and I've actually writen quite a bit more than what you see here, and not bashed her, so I'm pretty proud of myself.  
  
4. The beginning is pretty simple. Basically, you get an idea of what Sora's life is like, how people treat him, how they think of him, so on. Next chapter, 'GIFT' is introduced... and we see a little more of Riku.  
  
5. Not beta'ed because I lack one. o_o; Sadness. Fanfiction/Original Stories/icon website at Cerulean.Illuminati-X.net  
  
  
*~*~*~  
  
"You're going to be late honey!"  
A slim, tanned hand was run through tawny, messy wild locks of hair, and blue eyes peered into a large mirror. They were wide, innocent looking. Lovely, innocent looking, save for the slight hint of a mischievous, energetic spirit.  
  
Sora licked his lips, bowed his head, splashed his face with water and snatched up a fluffy green towel. Voice muffled, he called back,  
"I know!" The terry cloth was rubbed rapidly across his healthy features, then tossed on the counter. He'd pick it up after school. His mom was right, he was running late. Not that it was an uncommon occurrence, but he usually managed to arrive in the nick of time-a minute or two before the bell rang. If he was lucky, he wouldn't be tardy.  
  
Flicking the lights off, Sora passed by his bed, picking up a heavy red and black checkered backpack and sliding it over one shoulder as he spared a final look at his crowded, vibrant room.  
  
The window was open, inviting a breeze to drift inside, and warm sunlight splashed over the dark red carpet, littered with various comic books and not just a few thick volumes of biology and chemistry. On his bed, a golden retriever slept soundly, obviously used to the morning rush.   
  
Posters and stickers as well as glow in the dark stars were plastered over every available inch of wall space, from the lowest corners, to the middle of his ceiling. Sensual music idols grinned and thrust their hips lewdly, planets gleamed from their glossy pictures, and an enlarged picture of him and his friends practically took up half a wall.  
  
Speaking of friends, they were going to kill him if he made them late.  
  
Well, maybe not kill. Just maim.  
  
Running another hurried hand through his hair, the teenager gave a cheerful, bouncy smile and dashed down the hallway, practically flying down the stairs with the motion of someone who was always rushing about. He barely paused by his mother, just grabbed the ego on the plate she had put out in his way, and ducked at the last possible moment, a beautiful crash with his little sister, Kairi.  
  
She frowned at him, feeling remarkably like the older sibling, instead of the younger, and waved at her mother, more calmly picking up a piece of toast.  
  
"Good-by." She kissed her mother on the cheek and then hurried after the read streak that was Sora. Why couldn't he ever get up on time? Kairi shook her head and jogged, but knew she had no hope of catching up with him.  
  
"Morning!" Sora yelled, waving at the old couple that lived a few houses down the road, and liked to sit in their front porch to watch the bustle of other people. They nodded slowly at him with kind smiles, but he was already gone, hopping over the hood of a car that had paused in pulling out of the driveway.  
  
"Sorry!" He shouted yet again, and was glad he couldn't hear the response Mr.Ketterly had replied with. It probably hadn't been kind.  
  
Rocking to a stop, Sora shifted and turned, heading down another street. He could have taken his bike to school, or even asked his mom for a ride-or a ride from his friends, but he liked running around Rokio. It was fun. You knew knew who you'd meet-well, crash into really.  
  
Skill developed by such mornings, and intense soccer practices, Sora dodged and threaded through people walking their younger children to school, waving but not stopping for anyone. He barely evaded slamming into a light pole, and was chased for a couple minutes by a large doberman. He could have wished that whoever owned it would put a leash on it too, but this way, he was sure to get plenty of exercise. There was a reason why he was one of the best soccer players there was.  
  
Wiping beads of sweat from his eyes, Sora wondered why he even bothered to shower in the morning. He'd just show up all dirty anyway at school from all the running he did, and then he'd just take a shower in second period, since he had gym. Then he'd take another shower after school and after soccer practice. He should have probably been given an award for taking so many showers per day.  
  
Finally, the rather imposing gates of Rokio high school rose up, across the gray seamless road, and he quickened his pace, only stopping at the intersection to wait for the light to turn red so he could pass.  
  
Jogging the rest of the way past the gates and into the busy, crowded parking lot, Sora tossed wet locks of hair beyond his face, and quickly looked around to see if he could find any of his friends. There was a tall blonde guy walking into the Math building that could have possibly been Tidus, but the bell rang, and Sora cursed softly under his breath, then shrugged, a new smile on his face. Oh, well. Two tardies in a month wasn't horribly bad.  
  
With that ever present, cheerful resolution, Sora jogged calmly towards his first class.  
  
  
A few minutes after the tardy bell rang, a high costly, gleaming convertible pulled languidly into the parking lot and cruised around, trying to find a parking space. The try was laughable, and Riku knew it, but if he did that, then he could truthfully tell his father that he'd actually tried going to school.  
  
Pushing the slipping sunglasses higher up on his face, Riku leaned back, relaxed and confident in his new ride. How sad. There were no parking places left.  
  
He ignored the blatantly free space he'd just passed, and shifted gears, heading towards the exit. His silver hair gleamed in the clear October light, eyes hidden behind the stylish sunglasses he wore. He was vaguely aware that he had a test in History,, but he really couldn't care less. There was no way in hell he'd be forced to suffer for seven hours in a building full of idiots who tried to impress each other all the time with pitiful things. It hadn't been his idea to go to a public high school, and he didn't have to like it.  
  
Pulling out of the school campus, Riku was stopped by a red-light, and took that time to ponder on what he'd do, now that he had school out of the way. Going home was out of the question, and all his friends had been shipped off to boarding schools to keep their parents from pulling out their hair in frustration. Pity he hadn't been able to go with them. He would have preferred to be with Ansem and Seifer, not stuck in some low rate, STD infested hole.  
  
// A few more months. \\ Riku promised himself. In less than half a year, his eighteenth birthday would arrive, and his mother's will would be left to him. Then he'd just to whatever he wanted, and his father wouldn't have a say at all.  
  
The light turned green, and Riku pressed down on the pedal.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
"Okay, here comes the big question I'm sure all of you have just been dying to ask, but have been too shy to say it," Tidus began impressively.  
  
Aerith looked at him pleasantly, her maternal smile seemed to be permanently fixed on her face. She wore a pretty, warm pink dress to ward off the chill of the dying year, and her dark chocolate hair was pulled back into half a bun. In her hands was a cartoon of milk, a straw neatly inserted into the open flap. Next to her, Selphie looked up long enough from trying to finish up her book report before it was due next period, and blinked owlishly at him.  
  
"Eh? What do you mean?" She quizzed, twirling the worried yellow pencil between her fingers. Tidus made a note to duck if it went flying.  
"I mean," He began, and looked at the fourth member of the group to see if he was paying attention.  
  
He wasn't.  
  
"Sora!"  
"Eh?" His cousin's wide, blue eyes looked up at him, and Sora's lips curled into an inquisitive smile.  
"Yes?"  
"Pay attention," Tidus chided, and turned towards the two girls.  
"Now, who is going with who to the Halloween dance?"  
"The what?" Sora inquired, letting his face drop between his hands.  
"The.. " Tidus stared at his cousin. Sometimes he could be really dense and stupid. But he couldn't be that bad. Sora simply held his gaze for a long while before a mischievous glimmer entered his eyes.  
"I'm kidding, even I'm not that dull," He remarked, sticking out his tongue.  
"Yeah, well, you sure don't act like it sometimes."  
"Boys..." Aerith began, giving both a tiny frown.  
"Stop fighting!" Selphie added, shaking her head at them.  
"Anyyyyyhoooooooow.... I'm going with Irvine!" She announced, popping a crunchy golden fry into her mouth.  
"Really?" Sora tilted his head. "That's cool." He acknowledged.  
"No," Tidus shook his head.  
'That's amazing. He's like, the biggest slut in school. Then again, maybe that _is_ why you actually got him to go out with you..." He ducked as the pencil went flying above his head.  
  
"Nyah!" It was now Selphie's turn to blow a raspberry, until she realized she'd just lost the only writing instrument she possessed.  
"Oh, no! Who has a pencil? A pen? Quick!" She yelped, grabbing her bag and rummaging quickly through it.  
"Sorry..." Sora shrugged, not having even his backpack with him for lunch.  
"Nope. You just tried to kill me anyway, why should I help you?" Tidus pointed, stealing the brownie from Sora's plate, ignoring the startled sound from the boy.  
"Because I'm the Princess of your Heart?" Selphie tried, batting her eyelashes. They looked like butterflies in distress.  
"Yeah. Right." Tidus snorted, and ducked having a french fry tossed at him as well.  
"Peace children," Aerith interrupted again, handing a pen towards her friend. She neatly closed her bag again, cutting off the sudden smell of flowers and gazed at Tidus.  
"You brought up the question. Why didn't you answer?"  
"What question?"  
Sora smiled, and nudged at his 'Wednesday Mystery Meat Surprise' with a plastic spork.  
"Your own question."  
"That's not helpful," Tidus began, exasperated, until he almost smacked himself.  
"Duh. That question." He rolled his eyes. "I'm not going with anyone. You?" He pointed to Aerith.  
She smiled calmly.  
"Sephiroth."  
Selphie gave a tiny squeal, and promptly abandoned her work.  
"Reeeeaally?" Her blue eyes were wide.  
"Yes, really," Aerith confirmed with a quiet nod, not looking insulted with the disbelief being tossed at her announcement.  
"That's cool." Sora repeated again, pushing his plate away. He thought he heard the 'Mystery Meat' burp.  
"I'm not going with anyone," He added as an afterthought, letting his chin drop between his hands again. He didn't look bothered by the admission.   
"Really? I thought Quisty had asked you...." Tidus trailed off, raising an eyebrow. His cousin smiled sweetly, and nodded once.  
"She did," He admitted casually, picking up his chilly can of Pepsi that hadn't been opened yet.  
"But I turned her down. She's going to the dance with Cid now. I think." He paused, and offered another smile, this one a touch sheepish.  
"You know how I am, I can never keep track of all this." The brunette defended himself.  
"Yeah, we've noticed." Tidus replied wryly. "Anyway. I can't believe you turned Quistis Trepe down... she even has her own _fan_ club... Not that _you_ don't." He threw a fake glower at his best friend, who simply blinked blandly back at him.  
"I do? Why was I not informed of this?" He looked around, as if trying to find the fan club. He probably was.  
  
That was exactly why Tidus didn't get jealous of his cousin. He was so.... _simple_.  
He laughed and shook his head.  
"Never mind, if you haven't noticed them for a year now, you'll never notice them." He murmured, quite plainly aware of the three blonde girls several meters away, sitting at a round table and occasionally sneaking looks at Sora, then giggling between themselves.  
  
He could understand them, but then again, not really. Sora wasn't really handsome, he fell more along the words 'pretty'. In a few years perhaps, he'd mature into a masculine handsome face, but so far, Sora looked pretty androgynous. He was on the scrawny side and looked more like your average cute twelve year old kid, instead of the fifteen year old star of RHS's soccer team. So there was that, but Tidus decided it was just Sora's personality. He didn't have mean bone in his body. Not at all. He'd never seen Sora angry. He was just happy. Happy, energetic and plain weird. A bit of a mad scientist when he really got into his science, but he was really just an average person. He liked that. If Sora hadn't been his cousin, and so earnestly open, he probably wouldn't have liked him at all.  
  
He shook his head at the thought of a nasty, egoistic Sora and turned his attention back to the conversation. It had shifted from the topic of dates to their upcoming soccer match against East Side. Out of the three of them, only Aerith had nothing really to do with the sport.  
Selphie was on the girl's team, and on the cheer leading squad, Sora and himself were on the team, but Aerith's forte lay in acting, which was why she usually got first, or second lead in whatever play the school decided to make. Still, she was usually willing to hear them talk about it.  
  
"We're going to win." Tidus jumped into the topic, with that confident statement.  
Selphie raised an eyebrow.  
"How can you be so sure? Their female team is pretty strong you know. They won the island championship last year," She pointed out.  
"But their male team is weak." Sora replied softly, stating the bare facts.  
Tidus nodded.  
"They suck. Badly. And even if they're better this year, you just don't go from the lowest ranking team from the best in one year. It just doesn't happen." He nibbled slowly on a golden french fry.  
"And we're not slackers either. Our goalie is good, our star," He grinned and nudged Sora with his elbow. "player, is the best there is. I'm pretty good myself if I do say so, and you know Coach Gray wouldn't ever let anyone into the team if they didn't meet his expectations." And Coach Gray's expectations were high. Came from being in the army for several years probably.  
  
"We won't underestimate of them of course," Sora took a sip of his pepsi, rubbing his free hand against his jeans, wiping away the cold moisture.  
"But we have a strong case. It is rather probable that we shall win."  
  
"It sounds like it, " Aerith concluded.  
"But either way, I wish you both, and the team good luck."  
Selphie nodded quickly.  
"Yeah, me too! Weak or not, a victory is a victory." She grinned, her white teeth practically gleaming.  
"Maybe you'll even get to be the number one team this year!"  
Sora laughed, clapping.  
"Now, _that_ would be great."  
"Yeah! Then we'd get to brag that we're the best! Mwuahahah!" Selphie put her hands on her hips.  
"And the girl's team will try their best too! We shall kick arse!" She thrust a fist into the air, and then suddenly hopped back, off the seat.  
  
"Eeeeexcuse me, but I think that's the sign up sheet for the committee with the dance. I shall be right back!" She waved her hand and headed towards the bulletin board, where quite a few other girls had crowded around with the step of a determined femme fatale.  
"Is there _any_ dance, party or whatever-sort of festival thing that she hasn't managed to completely take over in the past three years?" Tidus complained, twirling an unused straw between his fingers and bending it out of shape.  
"Nope," Sora drawled, stealing back his brownie.   
  
*~*~*~  
  
End Chapter 1  
  
*~*~*~ 


	2. A Daring Plan

Disclaimer: Characters are not mine.  
Author Notes: ^^ Thanks for the reviews you guys~! Without further ado.... the second chapter.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
For his last period, Sora attended creative writing. Another slot was taken by English, but CW was an extra class that he simply felt like taking. Purely for enjoyment and amusement. Not nearly as fun as his beloved science, but it was interesting never the less. It was also one of his favorite classes because it was mixed. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors could all take it. They could choose a semester, or take it for an entire year. Sora had opted for the later, since the only other class he felt like taking was a foreign language, and that had to be for a full year, not a half one. So he'd chosen to have creative writing for his sophomore year, and then Spanish for the last two. It worked out perfectly for him.  
The other charming thing about his class was that his little sister Kairi was in there as well, since she was a freshman, and he could keep an eye on her.  
She sat in the front center with her best friends, Garnet and Rinoa, laughing and waving her hands with quick, fluttering motions, much like a breeze changing patterns. He smiled contentedly and took a seat towards the back, not wanting to penetrate her personal space. He could be her older brother, but he wasn't allowed to be over bearing.  
Vincent glanced up as the cheerful boy sat next to him, and nodded a bit before returning to his book, thoroughly distracted. Sora grinned, and dropped his backpack next to him on the floor with a dull thump.   
In front of him sat Zell, a hyperactive blonde that was almost the same height as him, who was raving fanatic about the boxing club.   
Behind Sora, was Nida as usual, talking in hushed whispers to Zidane about running track, and all was blissful in Sora's world. There was no one to his left, since there was a great window that he could look outside of.  
The best thing about it was that it faced the soccer field. How lucky was he?  
Sora stared out at the wide, open green expanse with a wistful, longing gaze, wanting to be running out there, tossing a ball to Tidus, or Barret. The sensation of wet grass brushing against his legs was almost tangible, and he could have sworn on his Playstation 2 he could feel a wind across his face.  
Eventually, he was drawn back into to the present world.  
Sora blinked, and asked Nida to repeat the question he'd just asked. Nida looked amused for some reason that Sora couldn't understand, and voice the inquiry once more, asking him what his best time running the mile was, and it developed within seconds into an eager discussion of how games would be like if all the players were track stars. Zell jumped into the topic, and with a little nudging from Sora, Vincent put his book down long enough to listen and impart a word occasionally.  
  
"Hey, has anyone like, seen Riku?"  
"Who's he?" Sora questioned.  
Silence.  
Sora smiled wryly.  
"I just had a 'Sora' moment, didn't I?" He guessed, not sounding at all startled.  
"Dude. Like you _so_ did." Zell informed him with a serious tone. He smirked.  
"I can't believe you don't know who Riku is."  
"It's not so hard to believe, when does Sora pay attention to _anything_?"  
"Hey! I resent that!" Sora tried to glare at Nida, but failed miserably. Glaring had never been one of his strong points. His friend winked teasingly.  
"Although, you know, it isn't surprising either. Riku shows up... what? One day out of the week, if that?"  
"He didn't appear last week," Vincent murmured softly.  
"Nah, I think he came in just in time for his last class on Thursday.... I think. Don't quote me on that y'all!" Zell scribbled a doodle in his abused notebook. Sora still had a lost expression on.  
"'Kay people, time out. Who the heck is Riku?"  
"A really bad person to hang out with, if you ask me." Nida mumbled, tapping his fingers against his desk.  
"He hardly ever comes to school, and he's the worst snob. He never talks to anyone. If he bothers to show up of course."  
"How cheery." Sora dropped his chin between his hands. "Why?"  
"What?" Zidane leaned in, and cocked his head to the side. "Why what?"  
"Why," Sora manifested, "is he like that?"  
"Who knows? Who cares? He's just an ass." Zell remarked with an indolent shrug.  
"I don't buy it." Sora protested, but the assured argument was cut short as Yuna, the teacher, came in.  
She was young, just a few years older than the seniors, and pretty cool by everyone's standards. It wasn't often they got a teacher that didn't mind being called by her first name.  
She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled, a little sheepishly.  
"Sorry for being late. Anyway, we're starting a big project tomorrow-" She paused, and the expected groans came-"so I'm just going to put a movie today, because I'm not evil enough to make you do work." With a swift pull, she presented a movie box to the class.  
"I hope no one objects to watching The Ring, right?"  
  
*~*~*~  
  
The boy's soccer team had practice after school three days out of the week, one morning practice, one free day, and one five hour practice on late Sunday mornings. It just wasn't inborn talent and foolish luck that they won as much as they did, they work hard for it.  
It was Thursday, so a one hour practice was in order. The next day was the only weekday that they didn't have to train, save for the times when they had a match. Since they didn't, Friday and Saturday became their resting days.  
Leather smashed violently against leather, and the ball spun wildly, dozens of feet up in the air. It seemed to float freely, like a helium balloon, free of the oppressive grasp of gravity.  
From his position, Sora knew better than to look up immediately. If he did, he'd get sun blinded. Instead, he watched the other players for the first few seconds to see how they reacted. From their actions, he was obviously too far away to even have a snow ball's chance in hell, so he stayed put, deciding to protect the area before the net. He wasn't playing goalie, but was a formidable block if the 'other' team tried to get past him. He wasn't very strong, but soccer wasn't really about brawn. It was about speed and being able to control the ball. If you were fast enough, obviously, nothing could touch you.  
The ball was pulled down by gravity, and slammed into the ground. Tidus managed to kick it away from Auron, but it wasn't a very good kick, and the blonde went down, slipping sideways on the glossy grass. Sora tensed, an anxious crease forming across his forehead that didn't vanish until Tidus had gotten up and was running. He apparently hadn't sustained an injury.  
Wiping a soaked bang away from his face, Sora allowed a relieved sigh to escape from his lips, slightly relaxed since the action was taking place all the way on the others side of the field. His whole body ached, but it was a good kind of ache. The sort that made you certain that you'd done your best and pulled your body to the limit.   
Sweat dripped down his chin, landing silently on the grass. Although it was a chilly afternoon, they were well into an hour of running about. His thin chest rose up and down in a quick rhythm, the clothing sticking to his frame. He hated to consider how much sweat would pour down his back during the matches later in the heat of the year.  
// Pay attention, \\ Sora reminded himself, shaking his head and focusing on the gaggle of players that were chasing the ball-and the ball seemed to have decided it was attracted to Sora.  
A wide, confident grin covered his features, and Sora wasn't Sora anymore. He was the best player he could be.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
"I don't want to go home with you!"   
Sora rolled his eyes a little.  
"I'm not, we just happen to live in the same house, you know? Same path?" He remarked, running both hands through his thick hair and sending drops of water flying. He was soaking wet, having dragged himself out of the shower and not bothering to dry up. His dark blue eyes looked slightly weary.   
Kairi bit her lower lip, trying to decide what to do when she realized Sora wasn't listening to her, because Sora had already started walking.  
She mumbled something below her breath, and wondered why it was that everyone loved her brother. He was such an idiot. She jogged to catch up with him.  
"You were trying out for cheer leading, right?" He asked after a few minutes of silence.  
Kairi gave him a surprised look.  
"Yes... how did you know? You were at basketball practice!"  
"Soccer," Sora corrected. "And, you normally aren't around at this time of the day on Thursdays. You don't have any reason to be."  
"Yeah, well, I could have been hanging out with my boyfriend."  
Sora stretched languidly, a pleased groan forming in the back of his throat.  
"You don't have one."  
"But I _could_ have."  
He smiled, sleepily.  
"Whatever."  
Kairi stuck out her tongue at him and fell silent again. Her brother had a drowsy face, which meant he was probably going to drop into his bed and sleep for an hour before their mother called them to dinner. Being up and about all day was exhausting, she supposed. But it was his fault. He was a bigger social butterfly than Rinoa.  
"I don't see what girls see in you." She huffed, and walked faster.  
Sora shot her a strange look, and shrugged, trusting his hands inside his pockets. Well, obviously, he didn't know either.  
A small, happy smile touched his face, and he looked up at the still clear sky. Life was perfect.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
"I see." The man had dark brown hair going gray rapidly, spreading from the top of his head down. His skin was marked with creases. It would not have been wild to guess that they had been caused by worry over the years, and his wide shoulders slumped in a defeated, shamed way. With one hand, he pressed a dark blue phone against his ear, and with the other, tried to massage away a pounding migraine.  
The woman on the phone sounded sympathetic, and equally frustrated.  
"I'm sorry, I just don't know what else we can possibly do. It's never been tried, but it is worth the effort, isn't it?" She pointed out softly, holding her breath. If it didn't work, probably nothing would. If it _didn't_ work, then it would most likely end up pushing both away and nobody would end happy.  
"Yes. If it is all that is left, then yes."  
The counselor released a long breath, and closed her eyes, pressing her hand over her eyes.  
"Thank you Mr.Jakunen. I'll try my best."  
The phone clicked shut without a good bye, and she stared at it, trying not to bite her lip. Now, who she was going to pick was the question. She glanced at the student rooster as she put down the phone, and suddenly stiffened.  
// I must be getting old.. \\  
  
*~*~*~  
  
"Sora, honey, Mrs. Farae wants to speak with you," His mother's soft voice roused Sora from his content, warm world, and he unwillingly opened his eyes. He stared at her dumbly, uncomprehending of what she was telling him.  
"Mngr?"  
She gestured towards the phone.  
"Mrs. Farae, one of your student counselors. She says it's urgent." Her voice was worried, and Sora could understand why. He'd never even formally met the woman. She handled the twelfth grade, why was she calling him?  
Blinking, he nodded and took the phone from her hand, pressing it between his shoulder and ear as he stood up.  
"Mmn... Mrs. Farae?"   
"Sora Kogai?"  
"Yep." He tried to hold back a yawn, but failed.  
"Excuse me, but why are you calling me?"  
"Well, this is a bit complicated. Do you know Riku Jakunen?"  
"Erm... no."  
"I see." There was a brief silence on her side of the line, and Sora stretched, wincing as a muscle in his lower back protested to the gesture.  
"What's the problem?"  
"There is no problem, really, but I would like to ask you to do something. It'll contribute to your needed community service hours."  
"...What is it?"  
"I would like you to join a program we're calling GIFT. Good Influence for Teenagers."  
Sora looked up at his mother, waiting anxiously by the foot of his bed and shrugged cluelessly, scratching the back of his neck.  
"Uhm. Can you be more specific?" He closed his eyes, shielding them from the yellow light spilling from the hallway and tried to pay more attention to what she was talking about. He had a feeling it was important.  
"Yes, of course. GIFT is a program designed for model teenagers such as yourself, who are well adjusted to the public school system to try to help troubled teens. I would like to formally request that you join our quest, and become Riku Jakunen's GIFT partner."  
"Uhm... Okay... what exactly, do I have to do?"  
"Well," She paused, and the silence did not bode well. "In this particular case, we'd like you to move in with the Jakunen family until Riku's attendance and grades improve."  
Sora blinked.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
The next morning, Sora was up and about with enough time to be able to take walking to school slow.  
But did he? Of course not.  
Jumping over lawn mower someone had left outside, Sora ducked the bridge a passing couple made with holding hands and dashed to the corner, took a small tumble as the front of his sneakers got caught in an upraised piece of cement, and pulled himself back up again. He looked down both sides of the street for oncoming cars and jogged across.  
Rokio high school rose up at him, looking particularly imposing that day, but he dismissed the notion, waving at a couple of practicing cheerleaders with an easy smile and pausing to talk to the Vice President of the student council, and his almost-date, Quistis Trepe.  
"Morning Quisty!"  
She looked up from her planner, and smiled slightly at him.  
"Good morning Sora, I'm surprised to see you here so early." She remarked, even though there were less than ten minutes until the bell rang. He grinned freely and hopped up on the wall she leaned against, using it as a seat.  
"Yeah, well, I couldn't sleep too well last night." He shrugged casually and crossed his legs, indian style.  
"I see. Any particular reason?"  
Sora fell silent, a rather odd action for him. He'd usually just say what was on his mind, and that was that. His wide, blue eyes looked unusually dark, and he worried his lower lip with harsh teeth.  
"Uhm. Well..." He trailed off. "Do you know Riku Jakunen?"  
Quistis pressed the end of a pen against her cheek, glasses gleaming under the early sun.  
"Can't say I know him personally, but I've seen him around occasionally. He hardly ever bothers to show up. Why?"  
"No reason." He flashed a brilliant smile, then winced. "No, sorry, that was lie." He slid off the wall and landed with a soft sound.  
"Ever heard of GIFT?"  
Quistis pressed her lips together, vaguely irritated at her own self for lack of knowledge.  
"No, I really can't say I have. Sora, what's wrong?"  
"Uhm. I'll tell you later I guess, I see Tidus." He bobbed his head and plastered an easy smile back on his face.  
"Gotta go, later Quisty!' He waved and dashed off, cutting through a crowd of students with expert moves.  
"I really wish he wouldn't call me that." She mumbled under her breath, and wrote 'GIFT' on her notes.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
Tidus practically fell down at the highly unexpected sight.  
"Oh, shit, am I that late?"  
"Funny." Sora wrinkled his nose and nudged his cousin with the heel of his shoe.  
"Come on, get up, you're getting all muddy."  
"So?" Tidus retorted languidly.  
"So, I don't think Yuna would appreciate the sight of you dragging your sorry self into her classroom looking like.. well, shit."   
"Oh, as if I care. Pfft." Never the less, Tidus got up and took painful care to brush away as much dirt as he could away from his blue and yellow blazer. Sora hid a grin and tossed his backpack on the cement.  
"Yeah, well, whatever. Where's the rest?"  
Tidus ran his hands through his sun kissed hair, and cracked open one eye.  
"Uhm. Somewhere." He waved a hand dismissively.  
"Oh, well." Sora snorted. "That was informative." He ducked a jokingly slung punch and rocked back on his heels, cerulean gaze flickering nervously about the school campus.  
"Oy, em, you know who Riku Jakunen is?"  
"I suppose so. He's an ass." Tidus frowned, crossing his arms, and becoming suspicious at the uneasy glitter in his cousin's eyes.  
"Why?"  
"No special reason, just wanted to know if you could point him out for me."  
"Right." He sighed and looked around the area without much enthusiasm. It wouldn't be very hard to find a head of silvery blue hair anyway.  
"Nope. He's not here. Not surprising, he's hardly ever here."  
"So I've been told," Sora mumbled. "So. Uhm. Do you know him?"  
"Nope. We share the same math class, but that's about it."  
Sora rolled his eyes, trying not to give a growl of irritation.  
"Does _anyone_ know him?"  
"Not likely, he's not around, and when he is, he's a grade A jackass. Why?"   
Sora shook his head, squirming.  
"I said, no reason."  
"You're lying."  
Sora made a face.  
"How can you tell?"  
"Your left eyelid tenses when you lie."  
"Damn you tense left eyelid."  
Tidus snickered and messed up his younger[and shorter] cousin's hair in a brotherly fashion, completely ignoring the outraged squall he gave.  
"You're an idiot. But we love ya anyways."  
Sora managed to squirm and drop out of the punishing grip, taking a few steps back in case of another attack.  
"If you loved me, you wouldn't do that!" He tried to fix his hair, to no avail.  
"Sure I would. Now. What's up?"  
Sora's annoyed look faded away, and he dropped his arms by his sides.  
"Uhm. Well. You've never heard of GIFT before, right?"  
"Can't say I have," Tidus answered slowly, a puzzled look descending upon his handsome face.  
"Yeah, well. Neither did I, until the twelve grade councilor called me up last night."  
Tidus raised an eyebrow.  
"Yeah. I know." Sora waved his hand, and then thrust them into his pockets, tossing strands of brown hair out of his eyes with a toss of his head.  
"Uhm. Yeah. Anyway, big, whole complicated yet not so big and complicated story short, GIFT stands for Good Influence For Teenagers. It's a program to mesh good kids with bad kids pretty much, and hope that something good comes out of it. Mrs. Farae called me to ask if I wanted to be part of the program, and..."  
"You accepted." Tidus concluded confidently, nodding. His cousin had too much of a heart to say no. Not to mention he had a problem saying no to things, period.  
"Yeah," Sora scratched the back of his head with a faint, silly smile.  
"I'm just an idiot like that, right?"  
"Somewhat. So. Let me guess. You're like.... Riku's guardian angel or something? We gotta hang out with him now?" Tidus looked highly skeptical. Sora suddenly looked just as uncomfortable, and looked down at the ground. Then up at the sky. Then around at the crowd of teenagers that talked excitedly to each other, or slumped themselves against walls and tried not to fall asleep. A few grinned and waved at him, others ignored him. He ran his tongue across his teeth, a nervous gesture and Tidus resisted the urge to stomp his foot.  
"Oy! Earth to Sora! Avoiding the question? _Not_ good for my peace of mind."  
Sora laughed softly at that, then sobered up.  
"Uhm. Well, we don't really have to hang out with him."  
"Oh, well, that's a relief." Tidus nodded, his posture gliding into a more relaxed one.  
"But I have to live with him."  
  



	3. The Project

Thank you to all who reviewed. Enjoy.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
"_What_?"  
He knew he'd take it badly, but he hadn't counted on his son's already pale face to become ashen. He shook his head slowly, and remembered why it was that he was going to such extremes, and squared his shoulders with resolve, speaking softly but firmly.  
"You will have a companion with you, and I'm sure you heard me perfectly fine when I informed you that he will be living here with us."  
Riku closed his eyes, and pulled his sunglasses off. His fingers were harsh on the metal, and it gave a little under the preassure. "Yeah, I heard you. I think you're out of your mind."  
Hinoi Jakunen frowned briefly, twining his fingers together and setting them on top of his desk.  
"Look, I'm obviously not jumping up in joy about this either, but this is your fault."  
"Oh? Really?" Riku retorted, not sounding all that bothered about being accused. He tucked his abused sunglasses into the pocket of his shirt and scowled at his father, practically reading his mind and not liking what he perceived.  
"Don't. Fucking. Say. It." He threated softly in the silent room and stalked out with a nearly over dramatic flair, not giving in to the childish urge to slam the door shut.  
He drew in a long, trembling breath as soon as he was sure that he was out of sight and out of hearing range from any servant. His father did know just what to say to piss him off, didn't he?  
Running his hands through his hair, Riku closed his eyes and leaned against the wall.  
For the love of God, he did _not_ need a babysitter, he needed to get the hell out of Rokio.  
School was due to open in five minutes. He chose to skip yet again.  
  
*~*~*~   
  
"Well, if it makes you happy..." Aerith began slowly, breaking the eerie, quiet atmopshere that had descended upon the foursome. Selphie nodded, and Tidus tried not to stare at them.  
  
"Happy? _Happy_? He's not getting _engaged_ here people."  
"He might as well be, he's going to live with the guy after all." Selphie pointed out with a rather irritating grin on her face.  
"Well, that's a new way to look at it," Sora laughed out loud, picking up a light green apple from his lunch tray.   
They sat outside again at their usual stone table, sorrounded by the chatter of nearly a thousand other people. The sun had taken to hidding behind a nasty, gray cloud that gave hints promising raining just in time to catch the unfortunate few who walked home.  
  
Strangely enough, a purple butterfly flew across the courtyard, and Sora watched it curiously, fluttering from one building to the next. He took a bite out of the tuna sandwich that was one of the few edible things his cafeteria served, and nearly choked when Tidus smacked the back of his head.  
  
"Oy! What was that for!" Sora whined, coughing and pounding his chest with a fist. Aerith winced, and handed a can of orange juice, which he quickly julped down, washing away the large chunk of bread that had gotten stuck.  
"For being yourself, that's what," Tidus chidded, patting him on the back like a baby. Sora's sapphire blue eyes glared at him, teary.  
"You suck." He grumbled, and handed the can back to Aerith with an apologetic look.  
"It's okay, I'd rather not have a drink than lose a friend." She assured him quietly, shaking her head.  
"Oooy, Tiiiidus! You're trying to kill Sora because _you_ want to be the star of the futbol team, right? That's horrible!" Selphie chidded him and threw a closed packet of ketchup. It bounced harmlessly off his shoulder, but the blonde took it as a sign of war and picked up his own bag of mustard.  
  
"And you all say _I'm_ childish." The youngest of the four complained, but not too loudly, least both decide that he was a more tempting target.  
  
*~*~*~   
  
By his sixtht period, Sora had concluded that 1.Riku hadn't show up for school yet again. and 2. He was a very unpopular person. He shook his head faintly, and brushed locks of tawny hair out of his face, finding that his fingers were cold. He'd once again forgotten to wear gloves. He frowned. // Oh, well. \\   
A little, simple smile found a home on his face as he navigated into his desk, and dropped his books on the wooden surface.  
"Hola."  
"Hola yourself," Zell waved at him. "You wouldn't happen to be any good at trig, would ya?"  
"Nope. Ask Vinnie."  
Vincent seemed to sigh silently at the use of that damnable nickname, but didn't dignify a reply. At least, not until Zell leaned in foward, almost falling out of his desk.  
:"Ooooooh, Viiinnieee deeear.."  
"No."  
"Yes."  
"No."  
"Yes."  
"What are we? First graders?" Nida hit Zell lightly. "Get back, oh tattoed beast, _I'll_ help you."  
Sora chuckled, then couldn't ignore the angry shrill of the second bell ringing. Sixtht period had begun.  
"Friday. I'm sure you all have plans, and a very short attention span, so I'll be as brief as I can be," Yuna sat down on a clean corner of her desk, the light blue skirt she wore almost falling down longer than her sandal-wearing feet.  
"For the rest of the year, you will have one major assignment, and very few else. However, _before_ you celebrate, let me tell you what your project _is_." She pointed out, in effect stopping the "BOOYA" that had been about to break from Zell's lips.   
She smiled quirkly.  
"Okay. Here's the sitch. You're going to work in partners that I'm going to assign. Nope, no bitching about it, so shush. I've already made the list, so that won't take but a few minutes. I don't really think most of you will have a problem with it." She paused, and picked up a piece of paper, glancing through it. She hummed an unknown song under her breath, and nodded a little.  
"Mmkay, like I said, here's the deal. You're going to have a partner, and together, you will have to write a story, using all that I've taught you in the past month. The story can be based in the past, in the present, in the future, or complete fantasy. It's up to you, really. Pretty much all subjects accepted. Rating should be a light R... at the most," There she cast an eye on Irvine and turned her attention back to the majority.  
"The story itself should be anywhere from one hundred thousand words, to one-hundred and twenty thousand. I want detailed profiles of all the main characters, and illustrations or more words than that will be considered extra credit." She took in some of the eager faces, and then the rest of dismayed ones.  
"Don't worry. You have until May fifteenth to turn it in. That's practically seven months. You won't be graded on talent, so much as for grammar, spelling, originality and how well you package the story. Any questions?"  
Rinoa, looking skeptical, raised her hand.  
"Yes?"  
"What will we be doing in class meanwhile?"  
"Working on the story. However, you'll also have to work up some kind of agreement with your partner and work on it outside of school. Go to each other's houses, through E-mail... It doesn't frankly matter to me, which ever is most comfortable for you all. Anything else?" Yuna paused, and looked around the room slowly in case she missed a timidly raised hand.   
"Alright then, you can always ask me whatever you want, but now I'm going to read off the partners." Taking a deep breath, Yuna began.  
"Zell and Garnet, Vincent and Kairi, Fujin and Tifa...."  
  
Sora basically blocked it all out as he stared out into the futboll field. The sky had finally cracked, and sheets of rain splashed down on the ground in a contionous beat. The grass quickly became soaked, and Sora knew by personal experience that by the next day, the grass would almost be twice as tall, if not more.   
"Ellone and Zidane, Leon and Sora..."  
"Huh?" Sora blinked.  
"You're with Leon." Vincent murmured to him, flicking a strand of black hair away from his face.  
"Oh." Sora blinked. "Cool."  
"_Not_ cool." Zell broke in. "He's a jerk."  
"I'm sure he's not that bad." Sora replied with a shrug and an easy smile.  
"Whatever man..."  
  
"Done! Change or move desks so you can be next to your partner, but remember to fix them afterwards!" Yuna called.   
Immediatly, a dozen teenagers got up and shifted around the room. The screech of metal being dragged across the floor filled the room, and some started to bicker about the seat they wanted.   
Sora put his stuff together, ready to go over to Leon's desk when a tall shadow fell over him.  
Blinking, Sora tillted his head back, and grinned shamelessly at the other teenager.  
"Hola!"  
Leon seemed to debate with himself if he really wanted to sit by him, then a decision that made, since he sat down calmly on the desk that had been deserted by Vincent.  
  
"Not one for words, are you?" Sora commented casually, head tilted to the side. His cerulean gaze was friendly, not guarded at all.  
Leon gave him a cool glance and began unpacking his things with careful, precise movements.  
"Nope. Not one for words." He remarked, mostly to himself, and pulled out a red notebook that had seen better days. He flipped through weary pages, filled with chemical equations until arriving at a clean one. Sora nudged his desk, and moved so that he was facing the senior, and smiled a little.  
  
"Okay. I'm up for suggestions."  
Leon stared at him, trying to choose on something yet again, when he nodded. When he spoke, his voice was low, intelligent.  
"Are you good with history?"  
"Yep." Sora laid his chin on the palm of one hand, putting the other-the one that held his pen-over the blank piece of paper.  
"Although, I obviously prefer some parts more than others."  
"What would you prefer the story to be?"  
Since Leon was obviously trying very hard to get along, Sora tried his best as well.  
"Hmn. I can work with mystery, and horror, probably comedy as well, but I'd be pretty lost on romance."  
"At least," Leon began, voice sounding dry. "We agree on that."  
Sora flashed him a happy grin.  
  
*~*~*~   
  
No soccer practice probably should have meant that Sora actually got home at a reasonable hour. Meaning, it usually didn't happen that way, and that afternoon was not any different.  
Rich laughter rolled down the courtyard and Sora ducked underneath the tin roof, shaking his head wildly. Drops of water were swung in every direction, and Tifa and Rinoa squealed, ducking out of the way.  
"Sora! I swear, you're like a dog!"  
"No, a puppy!" Selphie joined in, her arms full of pop cans.  
"He's cute and adorable which is why we don't kick his ass when he does stupid things, right?"  
The corner of Yena's lip twitched, and she shook her head. Being the coach for the cheerleading squad was fun, even if half the time they just ended up... well, hanging out.  
  
A yellow can was tossed her way, and Yuna barely caught it. She cast a berating eye upon Selphie, who simply grinned and tossed yet another one to Rikku. To the rest, she was more careful in handing out.  
"Since the gynmnastic team is using the gym, and it's raining too hard, I guess practice is cancelled?" Sora tossed his wet hair back, popping open the top of his Pepsi. Clean water ran down his throat, accumulating at the neck of his shirt. Even though he'd only ran from the arts wing, where his locker was, over to small gazebo, he was soaked.  
"Yep. So we're having a session of bitching and just being girls."  
Sora quirked an eyebrow.  
"Don't you do that anyway?"  
"Well, yea, but..." Selphie struggled for something to add.  
"But now we're just being lazy to top it off." Rinoa finished, putting her elbows on the table.  
  
"Oooh." Sora made a long sound of profound understanding, and slid into an open section in the bench. Besides him, there were five girls in there. Yuna, Tifa, Selphie, Rikku and Rinoa. The rest of the team had obviously decided to leave.  
  
"You know, you're not like other guys," Rinoa began, musing as she slid one finger under the metal bit, and pulled it back, causing the lever to open a tear shaped hole in the metal.  
"And I think it's 'cause you have a girl's name."  
Sora shrugged easily.  
"Maybe."  
"What does it mean anyway?" Rikku wondered, jumping into the conversation for the first time.  
"Sky," Yuna answered with a smile, sitting on the slightly damp tabletop.  
"Definately a girl's name. But hey, Sora's so cute he could pass as a girl!" Selphie grinned, a familiar evil glimmer in her eyes that made Sora regard her warily.  
"If whatever is going through your head includes make up, a wig, a dress, high heels or anything of that sort, don't." He warned.  
"Oh, I'm not!" She protested innocently. "I was just wondering if you were opposed to the thought of earrings."  
"Are you kidding? Mom would kill me."   
"But you don't not like the idea, right?" Selphie pressed. Sora gave her a suspicious glance.  
"I suppose not."  
"Bellybutton ring?"  
If it had been physically possible, a sweatdrop would have run down the back of his head.  
"No."  
"Be careful Sora, next she'll be suggesting you get breast implants," Rikku teased, and watched as the teenage boy's cheeks turned an amazing, glowing shade of red.  
"I draw the line at not cutting my hair, okay?" He stuck out his tongue at Selphie.  
"Pity," She remarked with a long, pained sigh.  
"Oh, go bother Sephiroth," He stuck his tongue out.  
"We're not _suicidal_." Rinoa protested, taking a sip of her Dew. Rikku snortled  
"Oh, we've _tried_. Or tried to try. He won't even acknowledge us."   
"I always knew he was a smart man, that Sephiroth. Ack! Not fair!" Sora yelped, finding himself on the receiving end of an attack with fizzy drinks.  
  
*~*~*~   
  
The rain was still pouring down when he waved good-bye to the girls, and absently licked his elbow, tasty a quirky mix of Pepsi and pop orange. His skin and clothes were sticky, but thankfully it was all very easy to wash off.  
A wave of cold air swept across his face and he sneezed, jerking his backpack over one shoulder and starting his jog. He didn't mind running aroud in the rain, although he wondered if his little sister had managed to snag a ride home earlier. Probably. Or at least an umbrella.  
Wiping back chilly wet hair from his eyes, Sora crossed the street warily, knowing that sometimes cars couldn't see civillians in that sort of weather and didn't relax until his feet took him on to the sidewalk.  
  
Inevitably, his thoughts turned to GIFT.  
  
He knew why he'd agreed. He didn't regret it at all. However, he hadn't expected to be told to go live with this Riku. For himself, Sora didn't mind. It wouldn't change his life all that much, considering that between school, trainning, hanging out with friends and sleeping, he usually didn't have much time for his family. Nor did they for him. He loved them, but it seemed to be an unspoken agreement that they had separate, busy lives. His father was the head botanist in charge of deciding what plants could, should, or couldn't or shouldn't be planted in Rokio. His mother worked as a chef. His little sister... well. She was going through a stage of 'pretending I don't know my goofy brother'. So living away from them wasn't a huge problem like it might have been for other people.  
  
Sora's gait slowed down, mindless of the pounding rain and he sighed. So what was bothering him? Besides the over all weird situation.  
// I suppose... I'm afraid that I won't be able to help him. \\ Lightninght appeared in jagged edges through the dark clouds, looking like wickedly sharp teeth. // I'm afraid that I've taken on something I can't do. \\  
  
Stopping completely, Sora lifted his face up to the sky, closing his eyes and feeling the rain hit his cheeks, his forehead and his lips.  
His expression was contemplative.  
// But when has that ever stopped me? Why the second thoughts? I've accepted. I'm not going to back down on this, even if it wasn't what I expected. \\ Wiping away at the water gliding down his face, Sora turned his attention the gray world around him. He tucked one hand into his pocket and resumed walking, absently grateful that his backpack was waterproof. He couldn't remember if he'd been the one to buy it, or his mom. Probably his mom, she tended to have the foresight he didn't. It was probably a trait all parents had.  
Licking his lips and wiping away the drops of rain he'd missed, Sora realized he could see his breath in front of his face and grinned. If it just dropped twenty or so more degrees, they might even get snow early!  
Giddy at the thought, the blue eyend futbol played continued walking home with a cheerful step, mindless of what others called stinging weather.  
But then, that was just Sora. Weird, plain Sora.  
His stomach rumbled. // Food,\\ He thought, and started jogging.  
  
*~*~*~   
  
Seated comfortably in the driver's seat of a black, covered jeep, Leon stared straight ahead through the misty atmopshere rain brought and drove. His stereo played some horribly pop popular song that he didn't recognize.  
With a derisive snort, he turned off the radio completely and happened to notice a shape on the sidewalk. What initially grabbed his attention was that the person wore no raincoat, nor did he have an umbrella. The second thing he realized was that it was his own writing partner, Sora, walking calmly down the street.  
// He's insane.\\ Leon concluded, and mechanically slowed his car down. He debated as to wether to pick up the younger teen or not. As far as people went, Sora wasn't on the bottom, but he wasn't high up on the list either.  
Tapping his fingers against the wheel, Leon let out a quiet breath and prepared to roll down his window when Sora took off and vanished behind a corner. He pulled the car farther down the road, but he'd lost sight of the boy.  
Shrugging, the senior dismissed the situation and automatically picked up his cell phone when it rang.  
  
*~*~*~   
  
End chapter.   
  
*~*~*~  
  
Next up! Leon and Sora study, and the packing begins. =3 


	4. Not Talkative

Name: A Good Influence  
Author: Andro  
Rating:: R-sh  
Couplings: RikuSora, slight LeonSora.  
Author Notes: The huge paragraph near the end is supposed to be like that. ^_^: It's just Sora rambling without stop.  
  
  
*~*~*~  
  
Alarmed, Sora's head whipped from one side to another, eyes wide. Water dripped down his arms and splashed in disarray on the wooden floor, but he didn't care. He looked appalled, standing there, his backpack threatening to glide down his shoulder. His blue eyes registered shock.  
  
His mouth opened, but no sound came out. He tried to close it, and then tried to speak again. Only a confused squawk came out. "Oh, stop exaggerating and tell me which one you want. Black, or white?" His mother held up two boxers, on each in hand.  
"Oh, what am I talking about, I'll just put both," She decided by herself, folding them neatly and placing them on an heavy looking suitcase.  
  
With a soft thump, his backpack landed on the floor, and Sora took a step inside his room. Was it his room? It reminded him more of a battlefield, and the clothes-*his* clothes-were the dead corpses.  
"Uhm.. mom, what are you doing?"  
"We're packing for you, duh. You leave tomorrow, and if we leave this to you, you'll take that damn ball you toss around and nothing else." Kairi's head popped up on the other side of his bed, and Sora started, not having seen her. Their mother shook her head at her firmly in warning.  
"What have I told you about cursing Kairi?"  
"It's not ladylike," Kairi chanted, sounding like she had to say it often.  
"It's great to know both of you have such a confidence in me," Sora glowered at both briefly, but it deflated when neither paid him any attention.  
  
Never the less, Sora knew what Kairi said was pretty true... so he sneaked out of the room, half fearing for his life, and jogged down the stairs. Passing the the laundry room, he took off his jacket and shirt, tossing them inside. His sneakers followed the same fate until he only wore a pain of mildly wet blue jeans.  
  
Pushing his hair away from his face, Sora wandered into the kitchen, and was disappointed to find nothing was left cooked. // Oh, well. \\ Not one to be daunted by such confrontation, he opened the storage door and grabbed a cup of ramen, filled it it with water and placed it in the white microwave, punching it in for four minutes. Words and laughter floated down from the second floor, and Sora winced, wondering what it was all about. It wasn't like he had a Playboy magazine hiding under his bed or something.  
// Women, \\ He thought with a confused little shrug to himself. His back rested against the kitchen counter, and Sora tried not to shiver. It felt like his mom and put the air conditioning on instead of the heater.  
  
// I hope Riku's house is warmer. \\ Sora covered a yawn with his hand, and listened to the dull hum of the microwave working until he remembered that he should probably call Leon. They'd parted before having a chance to set up a meeting.  
"Mmnn...oh. Great, I left my backpack up there..." He looked up at the ceiling and frowned as something heavy was dropped, and giggles followed.  
"...They're destroying my room..."  
"Beep. Beep."  
"Yeah. I know, you're done. Thanks." Pressing a button, the door swung open and he reached in, cursing when he noticed water had spilled over the rim. Grabbing a cleaning cloth from the kitchen counter, he held the cup of ramen in one hand while he tried to give the microwave a quick clean.  
  
The phone on the wall rang, and Sora tossed the cloth on the sink. It landed with a wet plop, and he pushed the microwave door shut with his hip. // Who can be calling? \\  
"Hello, Kogai residence, Sora at your service." He tucked the black piece between his ear and shoulder, reaching for the drawer with forks.  
"Is later tonight good?"  
"Eh?" Sora paused, blinking in a puzzled manner until he recognized the soft voice.  
"Ah! Uhm. Yeah. I think. Where?"  
"My house. I'll pick you up."  
"Oh, don't worry about it, I'll just walk." Sora assured him, ripping the cover off completely and throwing it into the trash.  
"Score," He mumbled under his breath, and carried his food with him towards the living room.  
"... Where do you live?"  
"Sunrise Street, 1418. Why?"  
"Sora, I live half an hour away by car."  
"Oh. Well." Sora paused. "You probably should pick me up then."  
  
*~*~*~   
  
When Kairi answered the door, Sora didn't think too much about it. When it was slammed so hard the pictures on the walls rattled, even he had to look up.  
"The hell?" He mumbled, getting up and leaving his Gameboy paused on the couch.  
"What's up, Kairi?" He stuck his head into the hallway, and frowned vaguely at his sister. She stared at the door.  
"Leon Hart's on the other side."  
"Duh, told you a friend was picking me up," He reminded her, nudging her out of the way and opening the door.  
"Leon Hart doesn't have friends!' Kairi rejected that, sounding exasperated.  
"....."  
"Ignore her, come on in," Sora suggested cheerfully, making it seem like it was something he did often.  
"I'll go get my stuff, and we can go!" He yelled over his shoulder, leaving the door wide open.  
  
  
Silence.  
  
Leon looked at the small girl standing with her hands fiddling nervously to his side, and rolled his eyes, hearing the stiff pitter patter of rain falling still.  
"So... uhm.... you're working on that story thing?" Kairi asked, trying to be friendly and not come off as an idiot.  
"... Yes."  
"What is it going to be about?"  
"We haven't decided."  
"As long as we're not getting into science fiction, we'll be peachy," Sora interjected, nearly sliding across the wood and falling as he appeared again, a heavy looking backpack slung over his shoulder.  
"Science fiction sucks, nobody does any research on what they're talking about and it all sounds absolutely ridiculous, I mean, how hard is it to pick up a book and-bye Kairi-read at least a little on what you're writing?" Shamelessly, Sora forced Leon to back out into the rain, and continued rambling on while the door was closed behind them.  
"Not to mention it's absolutely impossible to do nearly ninety five percent of what people write about, you know? So I think-"  
"Sora."  
The younger teenager stopped, looking rather content despite the ever pounding rain.  
"Yes?"  
"We're taking a car. Not walking. My car, is over *there*," He emphasized, gesturing in the complete opposite direction Sora seemed to be walking in.  
"Oh," Sora stood in the rain briefly before flashing a dazzling smile.  
"Okay! Let's go then."  
  
*~*~*~   
  
"Uhm. You don't mind, do you?" Sora mumbled, unsure as he shifted.  
".... What?"  
"I'm wet. You don't mind that I'm getting the seat wet?"  
Leon looked away and stared straight on, holding on to the shift stick tightly.  
"No."  
"... Okay," Shrugging, Sora tried to smile, finding that Leon really didn't talk a lot. Scratch that, the man hadn't said enough to complete a proper paragraph in ten minutes.  
/ So he's silent. So what? It doesn't seem to be a pissy silence, so he's not upset at me... I think... something... oh, crap, I forgot to turn off my game.... eh. I can get to that level again, easy.\ Drawing in a long, peaceful breath, Sora studied the inside of the car, finding a stereo system installed that probably cost more than his dad's car.  
"Do you actually _use_ that?" The boy murmured, leaning forward to inspect the complicated looking controls. Sadly, anything that had more than an off/on button, play, rewind, forward and stop for Sora was just way too hard to figure out. He resisted the urge to poke at the various dials and buttons.  
"..." Leon's glance informed him that his odd writing partner was fixated on his stereo.  
"Occasionally."  
"Occasionally?" Sora echoed, looking up. "What does 'occasionally' constitute as? Don't you like music? I love music. I'll even listen to pop, but don't tell anyone I said that, or I'll come at you with a rusty potato peeler," He added absently, brushing strands of hair out of his face.  
Leon snorted faintly.  
"I doubt it. Not that I care."  
"About what?" He was given a disgustingly cheery smile. "About the music? Or my all-too-serious threat?"  
"...."  
"....I bet I can out silence you."  
Leon eyed him.  
"...."  
"...." Sora grinned. "But then that wouldn't be any fun, would it?"  
"I. Don't. Care."  
"Really? That's great, because I just love to talk, you know? Tidus tells me I'm like a parrot. Once you get me going, there's no stopping me. Which isn't true, I'll probably stop for a tiiiiny little bit if you give me food, because it's impolite to talk with your mouth full, but otherwise, yeah, I won't shut the heck up if I really get going on a particular subject. Like soccer, I've always played soccer, it's one of the things I'm actually good at. I suck at other stuff. Give me a drawing pad and the only thing I can do is crappy looking stick figures that look anorexic even for stick figures. Gimme a guitar and I'll probably end up snapping the strings without even having to touch it. Or I'll probably drop it and snap the neck. I'm not too graceful y'know. Probably do. Maybe you don't. Now you do. Don't you feel special now? Of course you do. You're with me. You are now special. Special, special, special. Not short bus riding special mind you, just special. Why? Because I deem it so. And my word must always be followed, or the world will end up in chaos. And you've seen the news lately, right? That was Selphie's fault when she wouldn't do what I told her to. Tsk, tsk! You know Selphie? I dunno if you do, she's the short girl in yellow who is always organizing everything. She's also on the cheerleading team and is really, really loud. I mean, she is _really_ loud. One day at a pep rally, I was sitting like, on waaaaay on the other side of the gym, and I actually heard her yelling. In a gym nearly full of a thousand screaming teenagers. I mean, jeeze... Oh, since we-mn?" Sora blinked innocently and pointed at the tanned hand that was pulled securely over his mouth.  
"Mhmn-hm?"  
Leon glared, exasperated.  
"You don't ever shut up."  
"Mmm!" Sora would have beamed at him if his mouth hadn't been occupied.  
"Why?"  
Sora gave a tiny, casual shrug. Then Leon felt it. Something wet and soft touched his palm, glided up and flicked across his fingers. "Fuck!" Jerking his hand back, he was indefinitely grateful that they were at a red stop light, and stared dumbfounded at the grinning younger boy.  
"What? You wouldn't take your hand off!" Sora defended himself, tossing his hair back.  
"..."  
  
*~*~*~  
End Chapter  
*~*~*~  
  
Oh, dear, nearly ten thousand words and no RikuSora yet. ^_^; I promise I'll fix that soon!  



	5. The 'Girl'

Title: A Good Influence  
  
Author: Andro  
  
Warnings: AU, Yaoi, mild violence, hints of drug abuse, suicide.  
  
Type: Comedy, Drama, romance. Part high-school genre, but not really.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, FF7, FF8, FF9, FFX, FFX-2 or any of these characters, pretty much. =3  
  
Author Notes: First of, thank you to my lovely beta reader, Emmy. 3 And thanks to everyone who has reviewed. =) You guys really ido/i make me update.   
  
*~*~*~  
  
"Woah... you live here? Seriously?" Turning on his heel, Sora tilted his head far back to look with great interest at the glittering chandelier. The way the light reflected playfully from one crystal to the other was seductive and hypnotic. He got dizzy trying to count how many crystals it was composed of.  
  
"I have the keys, don't I?" Leon mumbled, tossing mentioned object carelessly on top of a small, tasteful desk. Sora transferred his attention to that instead, and tried to study the pattern, trying to figure out whether it was an antique or not. It looked pretty damn old, not the sort of thing one would just -throw- things on.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Sora shot Leon a puzzled gaze.  
  
"Mn?"  
  
"It's an antique. Louis XIII."  
  
"Err. Right," Sora agreed blandly, not having a clue at all what that meant.  
  
"The chandelier too?"  
  
"Mother collects them."  
  
"Ooh, cool. Is she here?" Sora questioned, following the taller teen-somewhere. It turned out to be a pleasant living room, furnished in rich warm colors. The floor sank beneath his feet, and Sora glanced down warily for a split second, then realized he'd stepped on to a carpet. He smirked a little at himself, and turned into a half circle, studying the pieces of art on the wall. He'd vaguely recollected hearing somenone saying something at one point about Leon being loaded, but he'd never exactly been interested. Whatever the case, Leon's family was certainly well off to afford a two story house on the outskirts ot the city with an expansive amount of private terrain all around. Sora had no doubt that any one of the landscapes he was studying cost more than his father's car.  
  
"No. She'll arrive later."  
  
"Mn. K'. So." Resisting the urge to touch the tranquil lake scene captured in brittle oil, the sophomore switched gears. They had a job to do.  
  
"We work here?"  
  
"If you wish."  
  
"Hey, I don't care where we are, as long as we're not below a flock of birds," Sora chirped, letting his backpack slide down from his shoulder and opening it up.  
  
Leon rubbed his forehead, wondering just how he was going to tolerate this overly cheerful idiot for the rest of the year.   
  
Sixteen minutes and four seconds later, Leon Hart was forced to admit defeat on something. The only two other options were to shoot his partner or shoot -himself-.  
  
"Fine, he can have a damn talking dog," He breathed out shortly, looking disgusted at himself for giving in.  
  
"K'. Scratch the dog thing."  
  
"What?" Leon stared. If it had been anyone but him, it might have been described as belwirement.  
  
"I just wanted to see if I could get you to say yes," Sora admited casually, crossing his arms behind his head.  
  
"..."  
  
"Oh, come on," Sora peered at him. "You were just arguing with me about why he shouldn't have a talking dog! I -know- the cat doesn't have your tongue." He paused at that, and Leon began to realize that those pauses meant the soccer player was about to embark in another rant.  
  
For one of the few times in his life, Leon was grateful to hear the little jingle of keys and the click of an opening door.  
  
A heart shaped face framed with pitch black curls sneaked a peek inside the living room, and Elma Hart smiled, but it was a faltering one that swiftly disappeared..  
  
"I'm sorry, I thought I heard voices...?" She siphoned off when noticing that her son wasn't actually alone, and blinked before smiling again, puzzled.  
  
"Hello..."  
  
Sora waved a little, and bounced on to his feet.  
  
"Hello! I'm Sora Kogai, are you Leon's mom? I hope we're not bugging you, we're just working on a school project. And stuff. Yep. No drugs involved," He assured her.  
  
With raised eyebrows, she nodded and took his offered hand.  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you, yes... I'm Leon's mother. Please, just call me Elma," She offered, looking pleasantly surprised.  
  
"Nifty," Sora beamed. "I'm just Sora too! Except.. not 'just Sora'... uh... Well, I'm sure you know what I mean. I hope. I think." Sora blinked. "... You know what, don't pay attention to me, I haven't eaten yet."  
  
"No?" With that bit of new information, she cast a berating look on her son, who hadn't bothered to rise from his seat and kept his eyes coolly fixed on the piece of paper they'd been writing ideas on. A light frown touched her face, before she shook it off and beamed at Sora.  
  
"Well, we'll fix that right now. I love cooking," She admitted. "But I don't like cooking for just myself. Would you like to be my test bunny?"  
  
"Would I?" Sora grasped her arm, clinging to it desperately.  
  
"Can I come live with you?" He inquired pitifully. "I'll even deal with grumpy over there. I'll make him talk more, even! It'll be like teaching a dog new tricks!" Pause. He glanced back at Leon. "That's not a -bad- thing of course, I like dogs, thank you very much," The brunette added, "So what are we having, oh-nice-and-cookingful-mom-number-2?"   
  
"..." Leon sighed. Great. Now his mother -and- Sora were together. Could life get any worse? They were never going to leave him alone now.   
  
*~*~*~   
  
The soft emerald carpet muffled the heavy strides of someone passing.  
  
Riku glanced out every window as he swept by, light green eyes showing a nervous anger. In an effort to appease himself, he'd worn his favorite outfit. A sleek pair of comfortable gray jeans, and a loose Romeo shirt. In normal Rokio weather, the outfit would have been stifling, but in the chilly winter...  
  
His fingers skimmed across an undone cuff, fiddling with the mother of pearl button. His agitated movements still held a certain skill of elegance, even as he wanted to kick something. Preferably someone alive. To be more exact, someone named 'Sora Kogai'.   
  
"...You can't blame her, you know," The tone of the new voice was knowing, but not smug. If it had been conceited, Riku would have turned on his heel and left. As it was, he simply eyed the enigmatic woman half hidden in the shadows with a resigned posture.  
  
"What?"  
  
"The girl. You can't blame her for something he hasn't done."  
  
"How do you-... nevermind," Riku snorted. Why bother asking Lulu how she knew how his mind worked? He knew how she did it, and he'd be damned if he didn't also think it unfair that he didn't know her as well.  
  
"You can't blame her. Don't you dare go and put the fault on her."  
  
"Since when do you care?" Riku murmured, crossing his arms and leaning back slightly.  
  
"I don't. But it's not right that you blame this person for your father's mistakes."  
  
"Ever the wise Aunt Lulu," He drawled. "I'm not going to blame her for anything, I'll even be -civil- to her. Good for you?"  
  
Lulu flicked him off.  
  
"Do grow up one of these days," She suggested, laying a slim hand on her hip. "Then I might be pleased."  
  
"That, according to my father, is never going to happen."  
  
With that, Riku turned his attention to the world outside of the flimsy glass. Being on the second floor of the mansion provided him with plenty to look at in, including the cul de sac driveway. His fingers returned to fiddling impatiently with his sleeve, and Lulu shook her head slightly, causing her braids to click together in an erratic melody.  
  
"Don't be rash. God knows what your father will do if you send this girl screaming out that front door." Feeling that saying anything else would be too much, even for someone like her, Lulu turned and moved down the hall. She frowned subtly. /I hope this girl is strong enough to at least tolerate him.\   
  
"Family," Riku voiced out loud, half wishing he was a total orphan.  
  
"..."  
  
/Sora.\ He thought idly. /Do I know her?\ His mind scanned the list-the very small list- of girls he knew at Rokio High. None of them matched. He'd never even -met- anyone named Sora before in his life.  
  
It was odd that they were putting a girl on his case. Usually 'adults' were so concerned about putting two teenagers of the opposite sex together... apparently they all thought teenagers had the hormones of a lion. It made him consider what -they- had been doing in their teens.  
  
"Paranoid fucks..." Breathing in deeply, Riku stopped messing with his shirt and stepped back from the window, suddenly finding it rather unlike him to worry. /As long as she's not a religious nut, she'll be easy to ignore.\   
  
*~*~*~   
  
'She' at the moment, was busy looking around at the regal walls surrounding the Jakunen property. Sora eyed the cracks formed by age with particular interest, contemplating if they were strong enough to hold his weight. He wasn't as heavy as most other boys his age, but he had no doubt something flimsy like that would crumble.  
  
"Hmn..."  
  
"Hmn what?" His mother raised an eyebrow and shot him a side glance while somehow keeping the car going in a smooth curve. Practice after so many years of dealing with her first born.  
  
"Nothing," Sora waved the consideration away for the moment and gazed at the house they were quickly coming up on. There was no point in comparing the house to Leon's house. No point at all. Riku's house wasn't a house, it was a -mansion-.  
  
"I wonder if it's a common trait amongst the rich that they're all anti-social..." The soccer player mused, pressing two fingers against his lips.  
  
"Don't you -dare- just go out of the blue and ask them that," His mother warned, looking appalled at the idea.  
  
"You mean me?" Sora's gaze left the mansion and turned innocent doe eyes on his mother.  
  
"Me? I'd never."  
  
"Of course you wouldn't," Mrs. Kogai raised her eyes towards the sky, asking someone, anyone, for patience in dealing with her son, and stopped the car.   
  
"... Oooh, ominous silence, always fun...." Sora volunteered after the two had been quiet for several seconds.  
  
"Sora..."  
  
"Mn?"  
  
"Be careful."  
  
"What?" Sora eyed his mother as if she'd grown an antenna out of her forehead and had started singing "It's A Small World After All". Needless to say, his hand edged towards the door latch. Teenage instinct ingrained by thousands of years of having to suffer through parental 'chats' was currently blaring like a siren. Or Selphie at a pep rally.  
  
"I want you to always remember that we're at home, waiting for you." Abruptly, Lucille Kogai swung the door open and stepped out of the car, leaving her son to stare a little somberly at her back.   
  
"Mn..."   
  
*~*~*~ 


	6. Punk Ivy

Title: A Good Influence  
Author: Andro[miel]  
Rating: R  
Author Notes: Kya. Long over-due update: Computer dying on me, new domain[energy-rain.net], building websites, family visiting, studying, having a roommate for a while, being addicted to my new PS2 and FFX, FFX-2 and finally actually getting to play my very own Kingdom Hearts, as well as other things. =\ Sorry.  
Yes, yes, I did change my name. I'd mentioned it before on my profile various times. I hope it didn't confuse anyone. I just thought it'd be best to change it now before I become even more known. Don't worry... it's still me though. ^_^;  
Thank you for reviewing!  
  
*~*~*~  
  
"Nifty," Sora decided, running a quick hand through his hair while he studied the -blue- pot plant next to the door. He eyed it a bit warily. As cool as it was, plants were -not- supposed to be blue. He tilted his head. It kind of looked like the punk cousin of poison ivy...  
In that case, he made a note to stay away from it in the future. His father would be interested in hearing about it though.  
"They're coming," Lucille commented quietly just before the door swung open.  
"Hi." Sora waved a little, not at all taken back by the chilly look the woman answering the door sent him.  
She was very attractive, he had to admit. If he went for the older, tall, paler than death gothic chicks.  
She shot him a strange look and parted her lips to say something, then seemingly changed her mind. She shifted her attention from Sora to his mother, and tilted her head.  
"Lucille Kogai?"  
"Yes, you are?" The redhead inquired politely, laying a soft hand on her son's shoulder.  
"Lulu Yevon. I am Riku's aunt," She explained shortly, giving Sora another strange glance.  
"This is... Sora?"  
"In the flesh. Unless you were expecting another Sora," He added, finding it a bit odd to be under such close scrutiny. /She looks kind of young to be an aunt. She can't be that much older than me...\  
Another odd look entered her eyes, but before she could say anything else, a tall, dark haired man that looked somewhere in his mid forties joined them.  
"I am Hinoi Jakunen, Riku's father..." He eyed Sora with a measure of puzzlement. Sora stared back, wondering if he'd grown a zit since he'd last looked in the mirror.  
"Er, hi! I'm Sora," He introduced himself politely, offering his hand. Mr.Jakunen shook it, and began to become amused.  
"You aren't exactly what we were expecting. But never mind, come in, please." He invited, stepping back.   
  
More formal introductions were passed between the four, and luggage was dragged into the foyer. Sora immediately took interest in his surroundings, delighting in the fact that everything there looked antique as well. Leon's mom would just -adore- the house.  
"Where's Riku?" Sora questioned absently out of the blue, having been tossed out of the 'grown up' talk.  
"He's around here... somewhere..." Lulu glanced up towards the ceiling.  
"You know I like to make an entrance," A cool, impertinent voice drawled, and Sora pivoted towards the sound automatically.   
  
*~*~*~  
  
Riku frowned, stopping in his walk down the stairs and stared back at the -boy- looking at him. Amazing blue eyes, a face a little too pretty to be called masculine, but that was most certainly -not- a girl.  
"Who are you?"  
Those cerulean eyes turned friendly, as quick as someone else would flick a light switch.  
"I'm Sora Kogai!... Riku, right?" He encouraged with a smile spreading across his features.  
"How could you tell?" Riku sneered, leaning against the banister casually. He didn't think he'd ever met this boy before. /But then again, I didn't think he was male either,\ His mind commented snidely.  
"Lucky guess?" The other teen gave an off hand shrug. "Not many people have silver hair y'know. It's cool if you ask me, but you didn't, but now you know anyway. In any case, pleased to meet you," He finished with a wave up, tilting his head.  
Riku regaled him with a strange gaze. What in the world had his father gotten him into?  
"Riku, why don't you show Sora to his room?" His Aunt suggested. When he glanced at her, he noticed she looked as smug as a sleeping cat. He rolled his eyes. Oh, sure, -she- was getting a kick out of the whole thing. Whatever.  
"Come on," Riku ordered Sora shortly, making his way back up the stairs. He heard a cheerfully stated 'good-bye!' behind, and then there was an echoing set of footsteps going up the steps. Within two seconds, a refreshed looking Sora came into step with him, dragging a worn backpack on one shoulder, and duffle bags on each hand.  
"What are you?" Riku demanded, eyeing all the things the boy had just easily ran up the stairs with.  
"I'm pretty," Sora mimicked his tone and snickered.  
"Well, no, I'm a soccer player -and- pretty. If you trained under Coach Gray nearly every day, you could do the same too," He assured the older boy, blowing a strand of tawny hair out of his face. With his arms otherwise occupied, it was extremely distracting not being able to push it to the side.  
"Who?" Riku frowned, starting to feel the same cynical voice getting ready to tell him he was acting stupid in front of the goody two shoes.  
"Coach Gray." Sora gave up on the bang. "I mean.... you know, our school coach?" He shook his head.  
"Never mind. You really don't come to school, do you?" He mused, thinking of everything he knew about the boy. Which was very nearly squat, considering Riku was -never in school-.  
"Why bother?"  
"Eh. It's a pain, but I like seeing my friends." Sora commented with a shrug, following Riku around the halls faithfully. He had absolutely no doubt that he was going to get horribly lost in the winding pathways afterwards.  
"Summer is awesome too, but then it's like, everyone stays at home. You don't get to see each other every day. It sucks. Then you're all bored, and playing only with yourself and a ball in your backyard." He explained, a little carefully. Some-if not many- could have accused Sora of being completely tactless. And stupid. But he wasn't really as bad as others made him out to be. And at that moment, his mind was telling him to tread softly.  
"What if you don't have friends?" Riku shot back blankly.  
"You make some," Sora retorted immediately, as if it was the most natural, most simple thing to do in the world.  
Riku pressed his hand against his forehead and shook his head.  
To this hyperkenetic boy, it probably -was-.  
"There's no one good enough to make friends with around here." Riku decided finally, feeling satisfied that it would end the conversation.  
"Cynic," Sora accused him with a smile. "You just haven't given anyone a fair chance. I bet you'd like Sephiroth. You might even like Gippal and Baralai." He ticked off unknown names, leaving Riku to eye him with some distaste.  
It was going to be harder to get rid of this Sora than he'd previously thought.  
"When did you get here?"  
"Six mo-wait, how did you know?" Riku started, nearly stopping in his tracks.  
"How did I know what?" Sora raised his head and studied the intricate wooden carvings of the ceiling, following the graceful lines.  
"Oh. That you're not really from around here? It's easy. Your speech pattern is slightly off, plus, you know, I probably would have noticed if you actually lived here all your life," He murmured, finding that one design didn't end when it met with a wall, but rather crawled down to the floor.  
"Where did you live before?"  
"School." Riku answered shortly, trying not to think of Credulus Academy. The last thing he needed was to get homesick.  
"Boarding?"  
"What do you think?"  
"Boarding," Sora decided.  
"Give the man a prize."  
"What is it? A kiss?" He joked, grinning.  
Riku eyed him warily sideways.  
"What?"  
"I asked what my prize was. Is it a kiss? If so, what kind? With tongue? A peck on the cheek?"  
Despite himself, and the strangeness of the situation, Riku rolled his eyes.  
"What kind would you prefer?"  
"Don't really care I guess," Sora mused, thinking deeply on the subject. "Tidus already kissed me on the mouth, so I guess I've already had the first kiss thing down pat, and-"  
"Tidus?"  
"My cousin."  
"...."  
"See, he's on the soccer team too, so like, when we won the finals to go into the islands-wide competition, he got a little too frisky and happy," The brunette explained, his grin widening at the memory.  
"Trust me, he spent most of the celebration party afterwards brushing his teeth. Most insulting, I'm sure I don't taste -that- bad. Uhm, by the way, if my room is farther away, can I start dropping cookie crumbs or something? Otherwise, I'm -really- going to be lost later on..." Sora trailed off, eyeing his surroundings with a dismayed face.  
"It's not far," Riku admitted, mulling over what he'd heard. Sora was... gay?  
"Cool."  
  
*~*~*~  
  
'Cool' was too light a word for Sora's new digs.  
"Freeeak. Stick a fork in me and call the cannibals for dinner!" He announced, pouncing on the bed. It gave just the right amount underneath his weight. A luxurious mountain of feather soft pillows tumbled around him, and he grabbed one.  
"You know," He pondered. "I think this is like... three times bigger than my room." He commented approvingly, hugging the pillow and looking around.  
A plush azure carpet swept over the floor, set off with the pale cerulean walls. A desk was pressed against a wall, with a sleek, gleaming computer on top. The chair looked like expensive leather, and the sort that could swing around. His eyes flicked up to the farthest wall and locked firmly on the large entertainment system.  
"Oh, I am going to -like- living here," He all but purred, mentally tallying up the hours and hours of fun he'd have with the new toys.  
"Whatever." Riku shrugged, faithfully ignoring the purring. /Weird kid.\  
Sora's attention snapped to him, and he smiled.  
"S'funny, my friend says that a lot too." He snickered, and tossed a pillow at Riku's head.  
"By the way. Is Lulu really your aunt? She looks kinda young. And... erm. Not very similar to you at all."  
"She's my aunt on the maternal side." Riku allowed sharply, and headed for the door. His duty was done, his father couldn't complain, and he was going to plan how to get the irritating, absolutely out of his mind pain in the ass out of his house.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
Sora stared at his ceiling, expression distant.  
This was not going to be easy. Not. At. All.  
Sighing, he rolled over and drew himself to his feet. Since Riku's grand exit, he'd stayed put in his room. He got the feeling he really wasn't welcome in the Jakunen house.  
Taking his courage in hand, Sora peeked out into the hallways. No one around. Okay.  
Now.  
Where would be the kitchen be?  
  
Two turns later, a staircase leading down which ended in a dead end, and one close call with a disturbing human-like cacti, Sora considered trying to dig a hole through the wall when something in the atmosphere shifted.  
"Lost?"  
Sora's smile broke out once he recognize the husky voice.  
"Lulu!" He greeted, relieved. "Would you mind terribly leading me to the kitchen? I'm hungry. When do you guys eat dinner around here anyway?"  
"We don't." Lulu informed him. "We're nowhere near a family enough to have dinners together. Come. I'll show you."  
The teen's cheery expression faded, and he dutifully followed.  
"Are you in college?"  
"Just graduated with a major in History."  
"Really? What are you going to do now?"  
"Keep an eye on Riku."  
"I see."  
"..." Lulu spared him a deliberating glance over her shoulder. "He's just as bad as he seems, and he can be worse."  
"Oh, I'm always up for a challenge," Sora was quick to reassure her. "Nothing is too hard as long as you keep trying. I mean, you have to get it right eventually, even if it's completely by accident."  
"Hmn." She said blandly, and reached into her purse. With a flick of her wrist, something flew at Sora. He barely managed to catch it. Puzzled, he looked at the shinny silver object.  
"What's this?"  
"It's a cell phone."  
Sora held up the miniature.  
"For what? Barbie?"  
"No, you."  
"Me?" Sora abruptly halted.  
"Yes. Use it as you wish, but it would be a good idea to keep it on you all the time. It's been paid for in full already. I'm sure you're a smart boy and can figure out how to use it." She told him, a twinge of sarcasm threading through her words. Sora ignored her, and stared at the phone.  
"Uhm. What's my number?"  
"Written on the inside."  
"Great! ... How do I open this thing?"  
  
*~*~*~  
End chapter  
*~*~*~  
  
Next chapter: Sora tries to loosen Riku up a bit. Riku still thinks Sora's out of his mind. He's right. 


	7. Lightning and Library Chats

Title: A Good Influence

Author: Andro

Rating: R

Warnings: Yaoi. Later on heavy uses of angst, as well as mentions of suicide.

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me.

Author Notes: Late because my computer finally died and I had pretty much no computer/internet access for about a month. I finally got a new computer, so hopefully I'll be able to update every week or so.

If you haven't noticed, I changed my name from 'Andro-chan' to Andromiel… but obviously, I'm still the person. ^_~

I'm curious. Things will get a lot more complicated later on, and I'm not talking about the expected love triangle. But who would you like Sora to end up? Leon? Riku? No one?

*~*~*~

 Crunching on a dry, brittle cracker, Sora twirled the cell phone between his fingers. The shiny black device went dull under the dim lighting. Outside a wind swept through the trees, shaking branches free of their last dying leaves.

Something smacked the window, and he looked up in surprise. He'd not even noticed the storm coming in. Smiling ruefully the teen propped himself back on his feet. With a practiced move, the cell phone popped open. The soccer player beamed, having mastered the move the night before.

Dialing home, Sora yawned and scratched the back of his head lazily.

"Kogai residence."

"Hey Kairi."

"Sora?"

"No, the monster from the sandbox. I am here to eat your toilet paper."

"Ewwww!" His sister's voice fairly oozed disgust across the line. She gave a gusty sigh of impatience.

"You're never going to grow up!"

"Possibly." Sora admitted. "But never mind, do you have paper and something to write with?"

"Hold on a sec," Soft sounds of light shuffling followed a victorious exclamation.

"Yeah, okay. What am I writing?"

"My cell phone number."

"What?"

"Cell phone number. You know what a cell phone is, right?"

"I know what it is! What are you doing with one?"

Sora pressed his lips together, humming thoughtfully.

"Calling you?"

"Sora!"  
"What? I am!" He protested. "It's a gift, okay? Just write it down. 629-2418-424."  
"629… 2418… 424?"  
"Yep."  
"Got it. What do you mean it's a gift?"  
"Kairi, dear, perhaps I should get you a dictionary for your birthday?"  
"Don't be a jerk. Who gave it to you?"  
Sora opened his mouth, and then sharply closed it with a nearly audible 'click.'  
"That's a good question. I'm not really sure."  
/Probably not Riku.\ He crossed off the name from his mental list absently. It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out Riku wanted him as far away as physically possible.  
"Look, don't think too much about it. But if Leon calls, just give him the number."  
Kairi made a soft groan.  
"I was such an idiot the other day. I can't believe he heard me!"  
"Look on the bright side."  
"What's the bright side?"  
"I can't think of one."  
Sora found himself listening to a dead tone, and he shook his head. Well, he couldn't. Shutting off the phone, he looked outside again. Definitely not a day to be outside, even for him.  
Which left exploring.  
Brushing away crumbs, he snickered. Well, perhaps he would be leaving a trail of crumbs after all.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
Riku tapped a pen languidly against the edge of the book, one hand thrust hurriedly through loose silver hair. The lamp next to him was turned on, trying to ward off the darkness of the stormy day. Occasionally blazing white flashes of lightning violently swept through the room. Strange shapes and shadows formed out of the unstable lighting, fading and surging erratically. It wasn't a pleasant day. He hated to think of how bad it probably was down by the beach.  
  
Switching the pen to his other hand, Riku slowly drew nonsensical shapes across the pristine page, smearing dark charcoal deeply into the woven paper. With the edge of his fingers he rubbed at the lines, blurring them to cause fading shades.  
  
There was just nothing to do around the house. On dark days like the current one, his Aunt firmly locked herself into her bedroom and refused to come out. His father wasn't even an option for amusement.  
Yawning, he glanced down at the sketch. For once, he actually liked how the eyes turned out. They looked respectably even. Perhaps a bit slanted, but he wasn't that good of an artist.  
Paying more attention, he drew delicate, thick eyelashes, using the tip of the pencil with near cleric devotion to faithfully curl the ends. His focus was complete.

Obviously, that was the only reason the nut managed to sneak up on him.  
"Journal?"  
The book was shut in a bat of eyelash.  
"No."  
Sora quirked an eyebrow.  
"Writing in books now, are we?" He inquired in a chiding tone. Riku reached for sharp, annoyed retort when he realized Sora hadn't actually meant it.

Sitting back, he stared expectantly at the brunette.  
"What are you doing here?"  
"It is the library… isn't it?" Pointedly staring at the tall shelves packed to the edges with tomes and volumes of fiction and nonfiction long forgotten, Sora swept his arm in a grand gesture.  
"If it's your room, where do you sleep? I suppose sleeping on top of a shelf would be nifty. But then there's the negative side of breaking your neck if you ever happened to roll over…"  
"It's not my room." Riku cut in before the other boy could truly launch into what Riku was starting to mentally title; 'Sora's rants'. He seemed to enjoy going into a couple every hour. About anything. And everything.  
To be honest, and Riku was-sometimes-they were occasionally amusing. And true, in an odd, startling way.

But it in no way changed the fact that Sora was an unwelcome guest. A pest, a brown noser trying to get ahead by helping the bad kid out. And it pissed him off.  
"Didn't think so."  
"Then why ask?"  
"Well, you did make it seem like I wasn't supposed to be here," Sora pointed out mildly. "Where is your room anyway? Not that I'd ever be able to find it. I'm about to start carrying paper and markers with me and posting signs. 'To the kitchen' on the wall with a little arrow pointing to the left. I might even put a 'To the dungeons' sign for the basement. What do you think?"  
"I think that you're probably capable of doing it."  
"What?" Sora looked hurt. "It's a perfectly fine idea. Don't tell me you've never gotten lost here."  
"I grew up here."  
"Really? It's odd that I've never met you."  
Riku shrugged, gliding back into an icy indifference.  
"It's not."  
"Mysterious."  
"It's not a mystery for you."  
"Oh, no, no, I don't do mysteries. I do science. Mostly physics and the sort. A little biology. Not to mention I make a mean Cheesecake for Home Ec." Sora remarked proudly. "It's about the only thing I can make though."  
"I'm sure it'll come in handy at some point in your life."  
"I'm sure too! I mean. Who doesn't like cheesecake? Nummy." Perching himself on a corner of the desk, Sora raised up his knee against his chest, forming a precarious balance.  
"What's there to do around here?"  
"Stuff." Riku replied noncommittally, standing up. "Figure it out." He added with a trace of malicious pleasure.

Sora sniffled impatiently.  
"'Friendly' really isn't a word you recognize, is it?" He complained briefly, bouncing to his feet and hitting a switch on the wall. Hard fake yellow light filled the room.  
Riku swept one eyebrow up questioningly.  
"Funny. I thought you couldn't do anything but smile uselessly."  
"Didn't I tell you? I make a damn good Cheesecake. You haven't tasted anything until you've had mine." The teen avoided looking at Riku, feeling a little tired. No matter what he did, his tries to be friendly kept getting thrown back in his face. He had –no- idea what he was supposed to be doing. Suggesting that they sit around a campfire and sing Kumbaya was out of the question.  
  
Or was it?  
  
Frowning, Sora's head snapped up.  
"Hey, hold on a second!"  
The other teen sighed. So close, and yet so far, he thought enviously, eyeing the door just a couple feet out of his grasp.  
"Yes?"  
"Do you have a fireplace?"  
"Why? It's not cold enough to use it."  
"That my man, is beyond the point completely," Sora glided past him, neatly avoiding crashing into a small table.  
"Do you have marshmallows? Chocolate? We can make smores!"  
"What are you, five?" Riku demanded, appalled, but never the less followed after.  
"I was born on leap year's extra day. So. Yeah." Sora confirmed, humming a ditty.  
"Seriously?" Riku paused, thinking it over. "… You're lying."  
"Yep, but I thought it'd make you feel better. Now, where's the kitchen again?"  
  
*~*~*~  
  
"This is disgusting."  
"No way! It's awesome!" Sora protested. To prove his point, he crammed the smore into his mouth and closed his eyes, letting out a breathy little moan. White, melted marshmallow smeared his lips, and Riku blinked.  
That had to be illegal. No one could manage to look ridiculous, little-kid-cute and sexy at the same time.  
"It's disgusting." Riku repeated again, automatically, shifting his gaze away.  
Sora made a muffled sound, a snort if Riku was translating it right. It may have been Sora choking. But since he looked perfectly fine, it seemed more likely that it was a snort.  
  
Swallowing, Sora smirked triumphantly.  
"Come on! Try it!" He ran his fingers across his lips, scrapping off the sticky mess and licking his fingers. "Really, really good. Oh, god. Mmmmn."  
Riku groaned.  
"I hate you."  
"Bull. Eat your smore. You'll be thanking me."  
"Or threatening to sue you while you're driving me to the hospital to get my stomach pumped," Riku retorted, looking at the toasted creation tossed on the plate. He picked it up, fingers on the cookie past. Sora seemed to enjoy just feasting on the gooey mess.  
He bit into it, and found not unpleasantly that the inside was still melted, and the mixture of chocolate and marshmallow along with crumbling bits of cookie hit his taste buds.  
Sora watched Riku, head tilted to the side, smile widening gleefully.  
"See?"  
  
*~*~*~  
  
He really, really shouldn't have done that.  
Frowning thinly at his own actions, Riku gave a frustrated growl. He liked having fun-enjoyed it. But Sora wasn't welcome, despite not being as bad as a prude, rules obsessed little geek he'd imagined he'd be stuck with. Facts were facts though. Sora was there because his father was pulling strings again to make his son behave.  
Looking bitterly at the wall of family portraits, he sneered. Well, perhaps his father should learn to behave himself before preaching about it.  
Sora Kogai wasn't just a friend he was having over, he was part of his father's plans. He was there to make sure Riku became well adjusted. Just another chain around his neck.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
Sunday morning.  
  
He had a routine on Sundays.  
  
Sora showered and threw on his favorite red bodysuit, black shorts and hoodie, knowing he'd need it all eventually in the day. Slipping his feet into comfortable sneakers, he jogged out of the room. This Sunday was going to be a bit different. He was going to drag Riku to The Council whether he liked it or not.  
  
*~*~*~  
End Chapter  
*~*~*~  
  
Next: 'The Council' is both what it sounds like, and something completely different. Is Riku's resolve to keep Sora away melting? Or will he push him away even more?

  



	8. Trust Me

Title: A Good Influence  
Author: Andro  
Rating: R  
Warnings: Yaoi, angst/mentions of suicide, other disturbing subjects later on.  
Type: Romance, humor, angst.  
Disclaimer: I don't claim to own Kingdom Hearts. Or any Final Fantasy game.  
Author Notes: Hah! Chapter eight. Making progress.  
Thank you so much to all of you that have reviewed. ;3 You really do push me on to get the chapters out faster.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
The insistent knocking refused to go away.  
Frustrated, Riku tossed his covers off and stalked to the door. Who the hell was at the door in such unholy hours of the morning? There was no one –stupid- enough to-  
"Morning!"  
Riku bit the inside of his cheek. Well, make that there didn't- use- to be someone stupid enough to be up.  
"What do you want?"  
"A vacation to Disney World. But I'll settle for you." Sora retorted breezily, wiggling his fingers in greeting.  
"You'll settle for me." Riku echoed flatly. "Mind contemporizing that?"  
A better question was why he hadn't shut the door in Sora's face yet. He shook his head and reached to do just that when the adamant pest swept past him into the room.  
He had to be suicidal. Had to be.  
"As nice as the outfit is-" Sora called over his shoulder casually. "-it's not really proper, now is it? Wear something to move around in. Preferably comfortable."  
Riku looked down at the old sweatpants he wore on reflex. The –only- thing he was wearing.  
Sora didn't sound embarrassed, but he was sure Sora was blushing..  
"What are you talking about?" He rubbed his eyes wearily. Being woken up so brutally was not in any way improving his mood.  
"I'm taking you to meet The Council. Come on, we'll be late." Pulling thick curtains apart, Sora welcomed the kiss of the morning sun.   
"Oh. That explains everything." Riku nodded, and then gestured for Sora to move. "Out. I don't need this right now. Or later."  
"Oh, come on. You told me yourself the other day you don't know anyone here!" Sora argued, tying the curtains.  
"For a reason."  
"You're just a pessimist. Come on. It'll be –fun-." Sora needled, eyes widening into a potentially lethal kicked puppy gaze.  
"No," Riku firmly held on to his resolve.  
"…. I won't bug you for an entire day."  
"I very much doubt it."  
"Trust me," Sora smirked, doing his best impression of Selphie. The 'You have –no- idea what I'm capable of' maniacal grin.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
It took Lulu's help and various creative threats, but Sora came out triumphant. Somewhat.  
"Did you have to hit me?" He complained, rubbing the back of his head and expecting to find a bump swelling.  
"Did you have to drag me into this?" Riku returned, slipping on a pair of dark sunglasses.  
"Man, you're acting as if I'm dragging you off to the pound to be put down. It'll be fun. Fun. F-u-n. Doing activities that cause joy." Sora stressed the word. He made an extra effort to sound cheerful-although he'd only known Riku for two days, he could tell things were tenser than normal.  
Sighing, he ran a hand through his head and reviewed the scenes from the past day. Things had actually been improving. Or so he had thought.  
Obviously, they hadn't.  
"Where to?"  
"Crystal Springs Mall."  
"The mall?" Riku's incredulous tone rang through the BMW.  
"Yes, the mall." Sora confirmed. "Just trust me."  
Riku gave him a cynical stare before turning on the car.  
"Such little faith." Sora sank into his seat and closed his eyes.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
"May I ask just what is so interesting about the mall?"  
"Not the mall." Sora glanced around. "I guess they're not here yet."  
"Who?"  
"The Council."  
"I'm not even going to bother asking."  
Pop music poured from ingeniously hidden stereos, muted to tolerable levels by the voices of Sunday mall rats. Riku shot an indifferent look the pair of girls standing near the fountain, doing a very bad job of pretending they weren't staring.  
"I'm early for once. I think they'll have a heart attack," Sora murmured to himself, craning his neck to look around. He wasn't near tall enough to look over anyone else, unless one counted little kids.  
"Might as well wait at the fountain. Everyone will arrive sooner or later."  
"Okay, now I'm asking. What the hell are you going on about?"  
"My friends, " Sora explained patiently. "They're The Council."  
"You have to be joking." Riku yanked his sunglasses off. "You've dragged me out here to hang out with your friends? If you needed a ride, you could have asked the chauffer!"  
"I didn't need a ride." Sora frowned faintly. "Try to enjoy yourself. You're bound to like someone in the group."  
"I very much doubt it."  
'That's the second time you've said that today. Maybe we should stop by the bookstore and pick up a thesaurus for you."  
Riku startled, taken back.  
"Sarcasm? I didn't even know you were capable."  
Sora's brief irritation was swept under the rug, and he gave his usual careless smile.  
"Talented, I am! Many talents I have!"  
"Like being on time for once."  
Riku's perception of Sora blurred momentarily when the boy moved with speed he'd previously thought undoable and latched himself on the tall blond girl behind them.  
"Quisty! Long time no see!"  
"We saw each other two days ago," She reminded him, managing to pat his head and fix her glasses.  
"Small detailage."  
"How come –I- don't get hugs like that?" A tall teen in an outlandish cowboy hat complained, flashing a million dollar smile.  
Instinctually, Riku decided he didn't like him.  
"You're not cute enough!" Sora retorted, snuggling up to Quistis like a kitten searching for warmth.  
"What? I beg your pardon!"  
"You don't deserve it." Tidus arrived, one bright eyed Rikku trailing behind.  
"Yo!" She energetically hopped on one leg, showing remarkable balance.  
"Hi!" Sora grinned back. He liked Rikku, she tended to go with his plans, no questions asked. "That's Riku, you guys. Riku, meet Tidus, Quistis, Irvine and Rikku-with two 'k's. Don't bother remembering their names; you'll meet a whoooleeee lotta more people today."  
Riku nodded, pulling his glasses back on. His stoic silence was greeted with a polite, half smile from Quistis, a smirk and a tip of the cowboy hat with a 'howdy' from Irvine, a squealed 'hiya!' from Rikku and a slight frown from Tidus, who didn't say anything at all.  
"Who else is coming today?"  
"Uum…." Rikku shrugged, her ponytail bobbing along with the movement. "The rest of the guys, I guess. Yuna might…" She trailed off, and grinned evilly at Tidus.  
Tidus refused to take the bait.  
"Oh? Well, we can play some soccer then."  
"Yes! Girls against the boys! We get Sora!" Rikku gleefully agreed, hopping back on one leg.  
"Hey!" Sora yelped in protest. "I have not had my operation –yet-!"  
The group blinked, nearly in unison.  
"….Can we do your hair after the operation then?" The small blond inquired hopefully.  
"You can do my nails." Sora agreed with regal grace.  
"YAY!"  
  
Twenty minutes later, two semi-arguments and several stops at candy/ice cream stores, Tidus bopped Sora on the head at the first opportunity of privacy.  
"What is he here for?" The blonde demanded, frustrated.  
"Owwwww… Who?"  
Tidus rolled his eyes. "Come on, I know you're not as stupid as you act."  
"Thank you for the vote of confidence. Truly. Warms my heart." Sora rubbed his head, wondering just how many more times he was going to get hit. "He's not that bad."  
"If you like… ice? Glaciers, maybe? Blizzards?"  
"He's a good guy. Just… a little… antisocial."  
Tidus stared at him.  
"I'm not kidding! Come on, maybe you won't like him even if you know him, but he's not that bad."  
"Sora, you don't –know- him." Tidus pointed out wearily, crossing his arms. "You've only been at his house for a couple days, remember?"  
"Oh. Yeah. Uhm. Just trust me. Please?"  
"Well, what choice do I have?" Resigned, Tidus scratched the back of his head. "Uhm. Just… whatever. I trust you-" He added earnestly. "I mean, you're a goof and all. But you mean well."  
Sora smiled sweetly, draping an arm around his cousin's waist.  
"Come on. The others are gonna notice us slacking."  
"Too late." Nida crossed into their path, a distracted Zell following behind. The young brunette offered a laughing smile.  
"But I suppose we can't say much, can we? Sorry we're late, the car died halfway here."  
"My –car-" Zell mourned, nearly slamming into Nida's back. Quick reflexes led him to turn at the last moment and instead he just looked comically miserable.  
"Zell. That car was ancient." Sora pointed out reasonably. "We all knew it was going to kick the bucket soon."  
Tidus snorted.  
"He's just upset he'll probably have to get an even junkier car now."  
"Junkier isn't a word." Nida protested, shaking his head and trying to bite back a smile.  
"Hey! I'm in emotional pain here!"  
Sora sympathetically patted Zell on the shoulder. "I feel your pain. Except not really, but you know, I'm trying to make you feel better."  
"It's not working."  
"Yeah. I figured. So how about we go play some soccer?"  
  
*~*~*~  
  
Much to his dismay, Riku was finding that he wasn't having an awful time. Sora's friends were witty and easy going, sarcastic and near sickeningly happy. It was becoming more of a trial to remember he wasn't supposed to be enjoying himself. It was also hard to recall –why-.  
"Movie?" Zidane-or was it Zell?-suggested in a puzzled tone.  
"Yeah, but what movie? I doubt they'll let you kiddies into the really interesting movies…" Irvine interjected. Right. Big cowboy hat. Irritating tendency to touch anyone-Sora- often and smirk a lot.  
"You're not exactly old enough to watch porn either, idiot." Selphie chirped back, smile a dab too dulcet.  
"Does anyone even know what movies are playing?" Sora mused, tilting his head back against the support of the booth. Little by little, they'd claimed ownership to the largest booth in the corner of Razelia's Ice Cream Café, as well as appropriated several extra chairs. The owners didn't mind… they usually managed to spend nearly a hundred dollars a group on ice cream every Sunday.  
"Er. No. I don't watch TV." Quistis shrugged.   
"Do you do anything but study?"  
Riku looked around to see who'd said that, but it was hard to tell. So many new faces and personalities tossed at him in the last couple of hours had melted into one pool of vague recollections. After meeting the first five or so people, he'd given up on remembering them all. It was as Sora had warned. It seemed like every five minutes there was someone new joining the group.  
The friends around him launched into a heated discussion of what to see, why, or why not. He only sat back, suddenly tired. Riku wasn't used to so many people at once anymore. At one time, he would have pitched in like anyone else. But that was at his old school. With –his- friends. This was… Sora's circle.  
/These are just the people he meets every Sunday…?\ The young man frowned, staring off into distant space. He wouldn't have pegged Sora to be popular. Not really. But now that he thought about it… with someone as friendly and downright stubborn like Sora, why the hell not? He was just so normal and-  
/Everything I'm not. Which is good. I can't stand him as it is.\ Riku thought indifferently. Then happened to glance up.  
Sora was sitting between the obnoxious cowboy and some chick with her hair in a braid. He was the only one not participating in the discussion. He looked mildly sleepy-sated. Content and amused, lips tilted upwards at the corner. Sora was staring right back with a peaceful smile. This was Sora's place. His home, his happiness was his friends.  
Riku felt ill.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
Confusion, as other people would assume, was not something Sora Kogai was really used to. He seemed quite stupid at times, dense as a turtle and as slow as one to people. Silly and flighty, irresponsible and childish.  
It went to show people were really quite thick themselves.  
  
One thing was driving Sora's usually full patience up the wall, raving mad.  
Riku. Riku. Riku. Rich, removed, sarcastic Riku. Proud Riku.  
  
Those traits weren't really that bad. Sora could understand that. He could tolerate and accept Riku as he was as a person, even if others would have just been irritated beyond belief with the other boy.  
  
Sora liked jigsaw puzzles. He always had, even as a child. Simple was good, but intense, complex ones meant to break your head were the best. Jigsaws that formed pictures of the ocean were always his favorite. In his opinion, they were the most complicated, with the wide and chaotic yet similar array of colors the water turned into. On one spot the color of the water was clear aquamarine, and an inch over it would turn to solemn, murky dark green. It required careful attention and devotion.  
  
Riku represented a puzzle that Sora was missing pieces from. Lots and lots of pieces. He had no idea whether to go forward, or step back. The bigger image the puzzle would eventually create was too hazy to even try to make out. It. Just. Didn't. Make. Sense.  
  
One moment, Riku didn't seem all that unfriendly towards him. Then he went frigid. He was certain he'd caught flashes of uncertainty here and there too. But then they were gone, and Riku would be hostile. Sora was beginning to wish life came with a defrost button. Or at least an instruction manual.  
  
He watched with a growing, gnawing worry at the pit of his stomach as he met Riku's eyes across the table, and witnessed first hand the swift transformation. Up went the defensive walls and the annoyed sneer.  
  
But Sora found another piece of the jigsaw.  
  
Riku was acting.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
"You sure you wanna go home with him?" Irvine murmured, lowering his voice. He ruined his own try at being subtle by jerking his thumb in Riku's direction. Sora smiled idly.  
The group had begun splitting nearly half an hour ago. As usual, Sora was one of the last to go, even though he was aware Riku grew more impatient by the minute. Irvine was often careless, but he cared for his friends. Sora patted his arm.  
"I live with him, remember?" He whispered back. "Don't worry about me. I'll see you tomorrow." He winked, stepped back and waved good-bye to the rest. When he turned around, Riku was already halfway to the car. Shaking his head in consternation, Sora plastered a big smile on his face and jogged after.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
Monday. School.  
  
"Oy! Riku isn't ready yet?" Yawning so hard he managed to pop his jaw, Sora blinked sleepily. Lulu shook her head.  
"Riku doesn't usually get up for another half an hour. If at all."  
"Oh. Great." Sora groaned. "Well…. Whatever. I'm going to wake him up."  
"It's your funeral."  
"It's so great to know I have your –full- support Auntie Lu!" Sora called, making a strategic retreat. He swore he could almost hear her call him a moron underneath her breath.  
"Up, up, up… corner… left… right… erk, wrong corner. Back… left…. Fourth door-ahah!"  
Sora quite shamelessly marched into Riku's room without knocking and tossed himself on the sleeping lug on the bed. He got a smack of a flailing arm on the face for that, but looking back on it later… it was worth it.  
"Hi!" Sora greeted cheerily at the stunned, sleepy green eyes that suddenly turned deadly. Sora just smiled serenely.  
"Come on. Time for school."  
"You're insane." Riku bit out through clenched teeth.  
"Yeah, I get told that a lot." Sora nodded. "Also get called psycho, hyperkinetic, skitzo, suicidal-occasionally pyromaniac and lunatic-"  
Not bothering to reply, Riku closed his eyes and rolled back into the unoccupied bed space. Sora's sudden intrusion on his slumber had scared the daylights out of him. His heart still pounded unusually fast, beating hard against his ribcage. It had absolutely nothing, and he meant –nothing-, with having Sora lying on his bed, facing him with those absurdly large blue eyes.  
"…" Sora poked his ribs. "What are you doing?"  
"I'm going back to sleep."  
"Really? I'd love to sleep too, except we have school."  
"I don't care."  
"Well, you see, there's a slight problem." Sora confessed. "I'm supposed to look after you. If you don't get up now, dress and drive us to school, I'm afraid I'm going to have to kiss you."  
Riku's eyelids popped open like Jacks-in-the-box.  
"Excuse me?"  
"Well, that got your attention!" The younger teen laughed. "Anyway. Come on, really. If you don't get a move on, I –will- kiss you."  
Riku debated on tossing Sora off the bed. No, that wouldn't discourage him. Damn stubborn freak.  
So he rolled over again and closed his eyes.  
That was when he felt the lips on his shoulder.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
End Chapter.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
XD; Yes. Riku only sleeps in sweatpants. And hey, it's the closest bit of Riku that Sora can reach. ;D 


	9. On The Edge

Title: A Good Influence   
Author: Andromiel   
Rating: Rsh   
Warnings: Yaoi, AU, mentions of drug and suicide.   
Type: Yaoi, AU, Comedy, drama, romance.   
Disclaimer: I own nothing from any Final Fantasy game or Kingdom Hearts.   
Author notes:   
1. Thank you to all who have taken the time to review.   
2. While I would like to reply personally to each of you, I am afraid I might go overboard and the whole thing would be longer than the chapter itself. So again, simply thank you.   
3. I'm afraid I will have to eventually re-write about 25% of the fic when it has been finished. Due to actually –forgetting- things I planned for the story, and just over all bad planning, some loose ends probably won't quite fit. It'll just be best if I flow with it until it's done.   
4. Yes, it's late. I'm sorry. I think the odd few that read my things on a regular basis know I tend to drag everything out.   
5. Many thanks to my beta readers.  
  
-------

In contrast to popular belief, Sora was not a simpleton.

Jerking back just barely saved him from a nicely broken nose. It however did not excuse him of the sensation of a flailing elbow smashing his nose in.

Ringing pain blossomed in his face and he fell over the side, landing tastelessly on the carpet.

"Mf!"

"What the hell are you doing?" Riku snarled, shoulder twitching at the ghostly memory of lips. He peered over the edge of the bed, planning to deliberately smack Sora if he so much as breathed wrong. His attacker sniffled.

"Wh-? What in god's name is your problem?" He glared, too frustrated to do anything else. Those shiny blue eyes were –not- going to make him feel guilty.

"Paaaaiiinn." The younger boy replied, muffled. Sora blinked away the reactionary tears and flipped to his feet with ease.

"Man, you hit hard." He pulled his hand away then he inspected it for traces of blood. He shrugged off the ache at finding none. If there was no blood, it simply couldn't be too bad.

"Come on! School."

"Sora?"

"Mn?"

"You're not human."

Sora paused at the doorway of Riku's room, nose still smarting.

"Eh? Of course not, what took you so long? I'm your guardian angel."

---------

Riku threw a pillow at the closed door. Tragically, it did nothing to satisfy him.

"Angel' my ass. More like a fucking maniac." Dropping back tiredly against his covers, Riku released a long breath and draped his arm over his eyes. That boy just got weirder and more irritating by the day. Giving up didn't seem to be a part of his mentality at all. If he had not been suffering for it, Riku might have actually had some respect for that. It took determination-or perhaps just stupidity-to not call it quits.

However, the important issue was that he –was- tormented by it.

"Fuck."

Unconsciously, he rubbed his left shoulder, the burning itch refusing to go away. It felt more like someone had pressed wild electricity instead of flesh against his skin. Riku froze and snatched his hand away with a suppressed urge to groan.

'First things first,' Riku rationalized, keeping his guilty hand pinned from further mischief. Except nothing much came to mind but a faintly panicked thought. 'He's gay?'

---------

"He tricked me." Sora blinked, and vowed to spend a good hour showering Riku's car with silly string the first chance he got. Said automobile vanished as it turned around the corner of the school and roared to illegal speeds.

Note to self; do not trust Riku in the mornings. Particularly when you've finally managed to get him to come to school, and he offers to drop you off first while finding a parking spot.

"I can't believe he –tricked- me." He swore under his breath, trying not to give in to the twitch developing at his right eye.

Oh, well –fine-.

First period's end bell rang as he pivoted and made a beeline for his locker, trying to brush off the twinge of hurt. Riku was not going to best him. Not now, not ever. Maybe he was taking it as a game of survival, but-

"Wow. What truck managed to run you over?"

"What?" Sora started, and swiveled his gaze to find himself (much to his resignation) nearly eye level with Selphie. The cheery girl was giving him a decidedly odd look.

"Should I start with the expression, or the stylish Rudolph nose?"

"What?" Sora blinked dully before touching his nose. Ah. That was what she meant.

"Oh, this. Ow. Nothing, just an encounter with a wild elbow." He waved it off with his other hand, using the first to access damage.

Perhaps Riku had hit him harder than he thought, the skin felt tender and feverishly hot.

"It's swollen dear. It is supposed to hurt. Come on, I'll take you to the nurse!" Selphie smiled sympathetically, patting his shoulder while simultaneously dragging him.

"So. Now that we have the physical taken care of, what's up?"

"What about math? That's our next period you know."

"Eh, we'll get Rinoa to give us her notes. Wait, no, on a more sane revaluation of what I just said, we'll get Quisty's notes instead."

"Fair enough," Sora conceded, ducking his head to avoid eye contact with other people. He didn't feel like talking with too many individuals at the moment.

"Uh… Selphie? You realize that nurse's office is on the other side of campus?" He ventured, realizing she was leading him out to the gazebo.

"You don't really want to go see Dr. Kadowski, do you?" The small girl arched an eyebrow at him.

Sora smiled thinly.

"I just kind of wish I could go home. And sleep. Because you know, no one gets enough sleep these days. It's unhealthy."

"I agree. Which is why I envy those overly spoilt little Pre-Ks. I mean naps every afternoon? Lucky bastards." Selphie pushed him down on a bench and flopped down next to him, sighing.

"Riku seemed nice enough yesterday."

"I think I've learned not to trust what Riku says or acts like. I'm half convinced he has MPD." Sora retorted, dropping his head back into the table. "Two days, and he has me this rattled. This is not normal."

"Mn. But you didn't really think it would be easy did you?"

"I didn't know –what- to expect!" Sora burst out furiously. "I'm not a goddamn expert, I'm just a normal high school kid. How am I supposed to change Riku? I don't want to change anyone against their will, and Riku's definitely against me existing, period."

Selphie stared at him, not bothering to blink. She looked a little thoughtful. "It's not often that you get upset." She began. "Not that you don't have an absolute reason to. Do you like Riku?"

"I suppose so. He's nice enough when he's not acting like the world is out to get him." Sora closed his eyes. "It's only been… what? Two, three days? Every time I think we might be getting somewhere… I turn around and he's decided I'm the scourge of the universe. A threat. And that's the thing! I don't fucking blame him! I-… I just don't know what to do. Stupid. Cliché. But I really just don't."

"Mkay, let's see if I got this sorted out," Selphie tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "You want to help Riku, and you feel compromised since you agreed to this 'deal' already. However, you do not know HOW to accomplish the goal, and to make things worse, you are opposed to doing this, period. The reason being that you are against forcing Riku to be something that he isn't, and does not want to be. Riku doesn't make it easy by being a total jackass one second, okay the next. Am I off?"

"It's something like that."

"That seems odd. That Riku changes like that."

"That's what I'm saying." Sora's eyes opened, staring up at the ceiling. "That's why. Because he's faking it. All of this, the bitterness towards everything surrounding him here. It's all an act. I don't know why he's doing it, but it's on purpose. He was having fun yesterday. He was having fun the day before that. But every time I let him spend time by himself, boom. All the progress is rewound and he's stubborn on keeping me away."

"Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you then. Good luck," Selphie grinned cheerfully, clapping him on the back. "You're not going to leave Riku."

"Of course not."

"Hang in there Sora. I'm sure you can do it. Whatever it is." She shrugged and stood up, taking a moment to stretch. "Maaaaaan, I wish I were home sleeping. Anyway, I'm going to sneak into class. You coming?"

"Nah. I might as well wait until third period," Sora smiled wryly, waving her away. "I'll talk to you at lunch. Don't tell any of this to Tidus."

"My lips are sealed!" Waving good-bye, Selphie snatched up her backpack from the floor and bounced down the steps, scurrying across the open field as if trying to avoid attracting attention. Sora snickered and sat forward, letting his arms cushion his head.

'That was unexpected,' He reflected. 'I'd thought about all this at one point or another, but it'd never just jumped at me all together.' He traced the scars on the wood lightly with the pads of his fingers, careful of splinters. Accepting the invitation to join the GIFT program had been a mistake in itself. GIFT itself was fundamentally wrong. Striving to change those that didn't want to be changed wasn't right.

So he wasn't going to do it because of GIFT. He wasn't going to do it because he compromised himself, or it was expected. He wasn't going to do it because Riku's father was counting on it, or the guidance counselor.

He was going to do it because for a brief moment in that small parlor, he'd caught a glimpse of the Riku that stood alone behind the dungeon he'd built.

-------

"…Nice nose."

"Oh, I know, don't you like it?" Sora's voice fairly oozed false cheer, getting tired of being at the end of the 'nose' comments. "Newest sty-" He broke off, startled, finding that Leon was staring at him with a faintly bemused look.

"Oh, sorry." Sora grinned. "I'm just really frustrated with everyone pointing this out to me. I mean, it's my nose. I KNOW it's swollen."

Leon nodded, and handed him a piece of paper silently.

"What's this?"

"An outline of the notes we took last week."

"Oh?" Sora skimmed through the page, then wide eyed began reading thoroughly.

"These are notes? I'd call them essays."

The older teen shrugged, crossing his arms.

"More than half of those are yours."

"Funny, I don't even remember some of them," Sora shook his head and stuffed the paper into his backpack. "Oh, that reminds me-you have my new cell phone number, right?"

"Yes… your sister… was kind enough to tell me."

"She's in love with you. Really." Sora nodded somberly. "I'm sorry, I know it comes as a shock to you, with us being as close as siblings-"

Leon blinked. A corner of his lips twitched slightly.

"You are bizarre."

"That's a first. I've been called weird, psycho, maniac, crazy, idiot and other such pleasantries, but I gotta admit that's a new one. Could just be lack of other people's vocabulary, but nonetheless, congratulations!"

Sora was beginning to learn Leon's three main modes. 'Arms crossed', 'vaguely irritated stare' and 'raised eyebrow'. Not very diverse for a person, but perfect for a model.

"Say, have you ever thought about going into fashion? Just a thought."

Vaguely irritated stare.

"What?"

"Mwuahaha, you'd be perfect you know. Just glare at the camera. And at people. In fact, you do that already. Let me get my camera and we'll get rich off your grumpy look." Sora babbled, aware that time was ticking down to when he'd have to go home. He also had no ride, seeing as his had taken off.

"Uh, Le-"

"Sora, you haven't seen Zell around, have you?"

Startled at the arm that was suddenly draped around his shoulders, Sora tilted his head back and looked up at Irvine.

"Mn? No… not at all today, actually. Maybe he's playing hooky."

"Hooky. Right. Bastard, skipping out on our bet," Irvine sighed heavily, shaking his head. "What tragedy, the cowardly villain-"

"If the villain was cowardly, this would probably be more of a comedy," Sora injected helpfully.

"Right, but comedy just doesn't have the same melodrama, you know?"

"You've never read Cyrano, have you?"

"Nope, got bored as hell and left the class. Made Nida help me bull my way through a report," Irvine winked. "Anyway, Riku isn't here today. You got a ride?"

"Actually-" Sora began slowly, flicking a gaze towards Leon… except Leon wasn't there.

"… I guess not."

"Something the matter?"

"Nah. But if you'd give me a ride, I'd really appreciate it."

"How could I resist those baby blue eyes?" Irvine patted Sora's head, making the other boy snort.

"Oh, come on, height does not equal age," He protested, sticking out his tongue.

"But you –are- younger than me!" Irvine pointed out evilly, squeezing Sora's cheeks, not the facial ones.

Sora barely batted an eyelash.

"Pedophile."

"N' proud of it."

-----------

"Would asking how you're doing earn me a glare, a grin, a lie, or an honest answer?"

"How about a question in reply?" Sora countered helpfully, tossing the car door shut.

Irvine tilted his head back, offering a wry grin of his own.

"Alright then, I won't ask."

"Good decision. I'll see you tomorrow," Sora wiggled his fingers in a farewell gesture and stood back as the car pulled out of the driveway. He couldn't help but smile a little fondly. The playboy at least knew when to not dig into sensitive subjects.

Sora approached the entrance, and found himself stupefied by one single fact that he'd overlooked.

Nobody had given him keys to the house.

"Oh, hell no," He experimentally tried to turn the knob, hoping against rationality that someone had left it open. No dice. Next, he tried knocking on the door. Then waited. A minute trickled by slowly before he knocked again and gave up. Obviously, there was no one home. Not even the servants. Or maybe they were just too far away from the entrance to hear.

Either way, he was stuck outside.

"Effing yay," Letting his backpack slide off his shoulder and plop to the ground, Sora joined it. He pulled out his cell phone and looked at it, fiddling with the antenna. It made him think of Leon, which in turn… well, made him think of Leon more. Like Riku, Leon wasn't a bad guy. Too quiet and removed for the likes of the general high school crowd, but he had his moments of fun. A dry, intelligent sort of fun. He just didn't act like the general high school population, period.

'He just doesn't help either,' Sora pondered, dumping his head back against the wood. 'I can't figure out if he really doesn't care, or what…'

He worried his lower lip, finding that his mind was utterly blank on the issue of Leon. He shook his head and thumped his fist gently against his thigh. 'Focus. Leon equals writing partner, not project be-noisy-and-make-sociable'.' Sora snorted at his own mentality and stood up. This was the first time he'd gotten a chance to study the outside of the Jakunen mansion, he might as well take the opportunity presented.

Whoever was in charge of keeping the flowers, grass and trees well tended was obviously a professional with a gifted green thumb. Even as the leaves were beginning to wrinkle and turn yellow as winter approached, there was a sense of it all being perfectly organized and healthy. His father would have loved to visit the grounds and gush over all the odd looking specimens. Out of wary experience in dealing with extraordinary plants, Sora simply studied the delicate blooms, finding it odd that they were still going strong so late in the year. Eventually he passed by them and found himself on the Northern side, where sculptures were now proudly displayed.

Fantasy seemed to be the running motif as Sora spied a marble faerie peering at him from behind a tree. An elf warrior made of granite sat on a half formed trunk of wood with young children crowding around. All of the pieces looked battered but well tended. He ran his hand gingerly over the chilled stone and wondered why they weren't inside where they wouldn't take the brunt of nature.

Going through that left him at the very back of the house, where he perked up at the sight of a lovely, cheery guest house painted in a crème shade with white window sills. It was set quite a bit apart from the house, and he looked at it enviously. Why didn't Riku move in there? It was like practically living on your own.

Following a naturally curious instinct, he tried the door and found it open. 'Too bad the main entrance isn't,' He thought wryly, stepping into the darkness and scrambling to find a switch on the wall. He failed at finding one, but his fingers brushed against a small knob. Warily, he pushed it in and turned slowly. A crisscrossing array of lights fixated on the ceiling slowly hummed to life, dim at first, then flourishing brightly.

At first, Sora was so startled that he froze, unable do anything but stare. Then he realized that the people in the room were not really people at all, but just statues. Dozens of them stacked closely together, one after another. He breathed a sigh of heavy relief. For a brief instant, he'd been under the notion he'd somehow stumbled into some sort of meeting.

'Yeah, right. Like a drug lord meeting at the back of Riku's house,' Sora snorted derisively and passed by a giggling mermaid. He nearly tripped over her tail, not having noticed how it curved on the floor for support. After a wobbly moment, Sora stepped back, eyeing it with annoyance. 'Note to self; remember that thing is there.'

It was obviously a storage for garden decorations, even though he didn't see anything –but- statues. It was also remarkably clean and well kept, as flawless as the main house. Not a spot of dirty anywhere that he could see.

It was also totally devoid of normal things as well. No paintings, tables or sofas. There was a kitchen to the side, and a door directly across from him, but he doubted there was anything in them either, save for more statues.

'Why in god's name are there so many…?' Wondering about just how many there really were, Sora began counting under his breath, starting with the left side. Dragons, dogs, cats, trees, there was a carved figure of each. They were done in a thin, wistful style with the careful, tender hand of an artist. Sora had no idea how old the works were, but they seemed in relatively good condition; better cared for than the ones outside.

"Twelve…. Fourteen…. Sixteen… Oh, hell." Tossing in the towel, Sora waved it off. The point was that there were a lot. Riku's father seemed to like a stately, old-fashioned Victorian style, so the fantasy and whimsical running theme was puzzling.

'It's probably just stuff left over from whoever owned the house previously,' He realized, turning back. This time he was mindful of the protruding mermaid tail, giving her a jaunty salute as he left.

The sun was beginning to go down, kissing the horizon line, and tossing a wave of warm colors across area. Sora shielded his eyes, stopping to watch the beginning of nightfall.

-----------

Plink, plink, plink.

Kairi very calmly stared at the sink.

Pink, plink, plink.

It refused to shut the hell off.

Deliberately, she wrapped her hand around the chilly metal knob and turned it hard. It gave just a little under her determination and the endless 'plink, plink' ceased.

With it, she released a long breath, rubbing the bridge of her nose. There was nothing more frustrating and mindless than the continuous sound of drops of water splashing.

She turned away and stuck her hands into her pockets. Now her throat itched from thirst. It was solved when she got a chilly cola out of the fridge and sat down.

Kairi stroked the cold surface, fingernails clicking against the thin metal. The clock on the wall announced the time and fell quiet, plunging the room into a deathly silence.

Her forehead hit the flattop with a fleshy thump.

"I am –not- missing that goof."

----------

End chapter  



	10. Corruptive Connections

**Title:** A Good Influence  
** Author: **Andromiel  
** Rating:** M  
** Warnings:** Yaoi, AU, mentions of drug and suicide.  
** Disclaimer:** I own nothing from any Final Fantasy game or Kingdom Hearts.  
** Author notes:** Oh, boy. Uhm. Here I am. Almost two years later. Yeah. Uhm. If you kill me, the fic will really never be finished. I don't even know if anyone will still want to read this, but here we go.

I know KH2 is out and all, but I have yet to play all of it (I'm playing it with a friend and we don't get together that often) so there will not be any CoM or KH2 characters. Sorry. It would just complicate things in the long run.

* * *

"Sora."  
"Mmn." The teenager in question curled up against the funky blue ivy. Apart from that however-he didn't stir.  
Lulu let out a frustrated breath. "Sora!"  
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

What was he, deaf? Lulu rubbed her forehead, wondering why she even tried. Additionally, she didn't even want to know why Riku's little playmate was taking a nap outside of the house. It wasn't that late-barely seven o'clock. How long had he been there on the floor?  
The stately woman crossed her arms before finally giving up on her dignity and kicking the teenager none-too-lightly.

"Wake _up_."

"Wah-! Oww-what?" Finally Sora reacted and stumbled halfway to his feet before falling over again on his butt. He blinked, dumbfounded in a sleepy daze, dark brown hair all over the place. "Huh?"  
A few seconds passed by before mental acuity kicked in with a bang.

"Oh thank GOD, AUNT LU."  
"_Don't ca_-" Lulu flinched and was cut short when Sora launched himself and clung to her skirts. Even she was a bit speechless, not that it would have mattered had she been able to speak. Sora was filling the silence just fine by himself.

"Riku was _mean_ and he _dumped_ me and I mean that in a totally platonic way the by way just in case I thought you should know because some people would take it in other ways but ANYWAY he left me this morning and it was really rude and mean and I had to get a ride home from someone else and then I discovered that I had no key because you people gave me a cell phone and a cool room but _no key_ and that was a bit of a problem because nobody was answering the door and-mff." Sora blinked, finding it just a little bit challenging to speak when Lulu had his lips pinched shut.

"Not another word." She warned, irritated. Despite the pitiful look Sora gave her, Lulu was unmoved.  
"Don't call me Aunt Lu. Ever." For emphasis, she pinched harder. "Understood?"  
"Mmnff." The poor boy agreed, dejectedly.  
"Good. Secondly, I will get you keys so this doesn't happen again."  
"MmInewjuwernithe!"

Lulu shook her head. She wasn't understanding a word he was saying. She really wasn't. That was just too absurd.  
"I'm going to let go, and I'm going to let you in the house. Not _one word_."

Sora held up one hand, as if to silently say _I promise_. Lulu released him reluctantly, unsure what to expect from him.  
Her paranoia did not go unanswered-he popped back on his feet like a Jack in a Box and caught her in a full blown bear hug. Then he let go of her so quick she was left dizzy.  
By the time she got her bearings straight, he was gone.

Lulu rubbed her temples. _He is way too likeable to kill, too annoying to be allowed to exist._

* * *

The first objective; find Riku. The second objective; get some food, because his stomach was killing him.

Sora prowled the first floor in _must-find-Riku­_ mode before realizing that once again, he was unmistakably lost. Oh. Well.  
Damn.

He stopped short before a darkened hallway and scratched the back of his head. Was he supposed to go left? Or right? He fidgeted in indecision. Actually, he should probably backtrack. Going into gloomy hallways was generally the stupid thing to do in horror movies. Except he was almost nearly sure that there was a staircase somewhere around there. He was already lost, why not just go for it?

In the middle of his deep debating, the sound of his cell phone going off didn't register until it began vibrating. Sora jerked in surprise, wondering what the _hell_ that was until finally remembering he, Sora Kogai, did actually own a cell phone.  
Which he could have used to call someone to let him in the house.

Sometimes, he really wasn't that bright.

Resigned, the teenager pulled the phone free of his baggy pockets and answered it.  
"Yo, Sora here."  
"Are we working on the project tonight?"  
"What-oh, hi Leon! Uhm. Do you want to?" Sora awkwardly looked around, deciding finally to attempt to retrace his steps to the entrance. The spooky hallway was just _too_ spooky to go in there alone.

"I would prefer to get as much work done as quickly as possible."  
"Mmn. Fair enough. It's-" Sora paused to check his watch. "Almost eight. Your mom won't mind me being over there? S'a bit late."  
Over the line there was a split second of silence before Leon spoke, and in that second Sora heard Elma speaking clearly to her son.  
"Mind? Tell him he's free to sleep over here!" Her cheerful voice carried across the line and Sora laughed, unable to help himself. "Hey, why not?" He grinned.

"No." Leon said firmly, feeling a pending sense of doom crawling up his spine.

"Aww, why not? You afraid I got cooties?" The younger teenager snickered evilly. "Leon's afraid of cooties" He sing-sang, mood lighting up. "Besides, your mother _feeds_ me and uses me as her test bunny. You gonna deprive her of that?"  
"Test bunny!" Sora heard Elma say on the other side of line, and he nodded empathically. "See? I mean, hear? Two against one! Plus, we can get a bunch of work done" He dangled the tempting morsel before Leon, waiting to see what he'd decide. Either way, this was the most fun he'd had all day-his nose didn't even hurt anymore.

Leon sighed in defeat.  
"When do I pick you up?"  
"Like… twenty minutes?""Alright."

Before Sora could explain that he wasn't technically living at home-Leon hung up the phone. He rolled his eyes. Leon really needed to learn some social skills-it wouldn't kill him.  
Or would they?  
He stashed away the thought for further consideration at a more appropriate time (when he was really bored) and called back. The phone was answered on the second ring.

"What?"  
"I need to give you directions as to where I am," Sora said patiently. "Don't ask, I'll explain later. It's 1419 Comet Road. It's a really huge mansion, can't miss it. I'll meet you outside the gates, okay?"

After several seconds, Sora tilted his head curiously. Leon had yet to answer, and time was dragging on to a full minute. "Leon?"  
The phone line went dead.

_Really_ needed to learn some social skills. Sora shook his head and pocketed the phone again, only to discover his feet had unconsciously led him to a part of the house he half-recognized. At least enough to navigate his way back to his room without too much trouble.

He bit his lip and wondered if he should try talking to Riku first. That stunt he'd pulled that morning was actually pretty cruel, in a petty, irresponsible way. Riku didn't _deserve_ to be talked to just yet.

Sora shrugged it off and snagged the attention of a maid he encountered. "Hey, could you tell Aunt Lu that I'm sleeping over at a friend's house?"  
The maid gave him the strangest look. "Yes, sir."  
"Thanks. Uhm…" He sighed. He really needed to put up those poster signs on the walls. "Which way is my room?"

* * *

It actually took him longer than twenty minutes to meet Leon in front of the gates-not because he had problems packing an overnight bag, but rather because he got lost.

Again.

He was really starting to think the house hated him.

Leon's gleaming black Jeep was parked just before the gates, the ignition still running. He'd changed clothes since Sora had seen him at school, with a leather jacket and pants that had Sora eyeing him with curiosity. "Nice look. Aren't you hot? In a non-sexual way?"  
Leon spared him a slight glance. "No. It's winter."  
"Nah, it's not winter until it snows and I get to eat snow ice cones." Sora grinned, shoving the duffle bag into the back of the jeep and buckling himself into the passenger seat. There was a strange tension inside the car, although it didn't feel like it was directed _at_ him. Sora eyed Leon out of the corner of his eye with some wariness, having been experiencing more than his share of grumpy loners in the past few days to recognize the signs of a really bad mood.

"I really don't mean to spend the night if you honestly don't want me to." He said carefully, inspecting Leon's stiff, wound up body language. Something was really bothering the older boy.  
"I don't mind." Leon said after a long pause, gaze focused entirely on the road. "Mom really took to you."

Sora resisted the urge to point out they hadn't been discussing his mother, except it was an olive branch and he was perceptive enough to realize it. "She cooks really well. She should a chef. Yummy."  
"She's... an interior decorator."  
"Ah, must be interesting."  
"Not really." Leon drove in silence for a few miles before realizing the silence was unnatural. He raised an eyebrow and finally spared Sora a look.

"I thought you said you were a parrot?"  
"I am. Just a little bit tired." Sora shrugged. "Being me takes up energy, you know? I need food to replenish my health bar."  
"Your what?"  
"Health bar. Don't you ever play video games?" Sora bounced up slightly in his seat, reanimating quickly. "Like, usually you have to rescue some dumb princess who spends all her time being kidnapped, but they're really hella fun. Then you get a group together and rescue the princess but of course it isn't that easy because the plot won't let you off like that and instead it'll turn out that the princess has super magical special powers that can be used to bring on the end of the world AND or give the villain the ability somehow to rule the world. Not that I know why anyone would want to rule the world, that is just entirely too much work and no vacation time. Seriously! You probably don't even get benefits or insurance and then rebel groups are always trying to kill you or bring down your communist rule and god forbid you ever have children because they'll try to kill you too by either joining the rebel people or attempting to take the throne before your time is up-ungrateful brats-and then the plot will be against you which means sooner or later some unlikely hero is going to bust into your fortress of impenetrable darkness that has been penetrated and kick your ass. On the other hand you get to like, change forms five times so that's fun. In a completely bizarre, random way-"

"Sora."  
"Yeah?"  
"Shut up."  
"Why Leon, I love you too!"

* * *

Elma had outdone herself-or rather, she had damned her son.

She gave Sora sugar. Copious amounts of the stuff in the form of home made doughnuts and cakes topped with thick, heavy cream and little gingerbread men.  
It was like giving sugar to a ferret-highly dangerous. As soon as Leon realized what was happening-he left the two alone and hid in his room. Except he didn't –hide- of course, just… gave himself a little protection. For all the good it did him, considering a short while later Sora barreled in with a plateful of delicate sugary pastries and two glasses of milk.

"I don't drink milk." Leon said, resigned, imagining the mess of sticky crumbs on his bed after the night was done. Sora just shrugged. "Who said it was for you?" He grinned, then looked around.

"Nice. A little Spartan, but nice. Are those actual weapons?" Sora balanced the food somewhat precariously while inspecting the wall full of unusual looking weapons. They didn't really look like they would be the most easy to wield or all that effective, but there was something fascinating about the designs.

"What if there was an earthquake?" He mused. "That'd be pretty scary. Or a poltergeist ghost thing-person! Or a crazy axe murderer-wait, are axe murderers allowed to use other weapons? I mean, you never heard of like… a spoon murderer! Or a fork murderer!" He paused. "A SPORK murderer!"

"Sora?"  
"Yes?"  
"Sit down."  
"Okay." Sora turned his back on the rack and sat down on the floor, figuring it was the most stable surface-sans earthquakes. He could still peer over the top of the bed at Leon.

"Okay, so what do have?"  
"Lots of notes in your handwriting that I can't read."  
"Pfft, my handwriting is perfectly fine… with a mirror." Sora did a faint, wiggling motion with his hand. "Took me _forever_ to learn how to write in reverse, but it's fun!"  
"When… exactly did you write these notes in reverse?" In doubt, yet unable to deny the proof of Sora's… uniqueness, Leon looked down at their compiled story notes. He wondered if it was possible to bribe the teacher into letting him do the project by himself. He could use a health related excuse-Sora was going to drive him into downright lunacy.

"I dunno." Sora shrugged and apparently dismissed the subject. "We still working on the modern concept or the Renaissance one?"  
"Modern. Less historical research."  
"Ah, less work! I'm up for it. Or down for it? Or… or…!"

"Sora?"  
"Yes?  
"Shut up."

* * *

Several hours passed by in relative silence. They both settled down with crafting basic characters and settings, and Sora was oddly pleased by the fact Leon seemed to appreciate the work. Enjoy it, even. It seemed unlikely that Leon would be in a Creative Writing class at all, much less like it. Sora himself only took it for fun, not for any real interest in writing. (That and Biology 2 had been full)

It was… sort of nice. To see Leon immersed in something. Not like he knew the older teenager very well, but he got the instinctive feeling that Leon didn't _allow_ himself to get enjoyment out of many things.

Ending one character profile, Sora stopped to massage his hand and took the opportunity to have a small break. The room's ambiance was tranquil, as opposed to the terse energy that had jammed into the Jeep earlier. He frowned at the recollection. Leon apparently wasn't mad at him, so perhaps he'd just been in a bad mood because of something that had nothing to do with Sora.

Except… Leon had been his normal self until Sora had told him where to pick him up.

Now that was just bizarre. A frown creased Sora's face as he focused and circled around the mystery. Leon. Riku's house. _Leon_. Riku's house. Leon. _Riku's house_.

Did Leon and Riku know each other?

Now that the possibility arose, it wasn't unlikely. They were both seniors in the same school, both rich. They even likely ran in the same social circles-their parents were sure to know each other. Hell, they even shared some major personality traits. The more the soccer player considered it, the more plausible the strain of thought became.

Until he felt sure of it. Leon and Riku shared some sort of connection and it wasn't a friendly one, judging from Leon's reaction to the house. Which made Sora cringe, wondering what _Leon_ was wondering about Sora being there. He bit his chapped lower lip, attempting to be smart about the situation. Leon and Riku? Not friends. Leon knew Sora was at Riku's house-but not why. Leon apparently didn't want to talk about Riku, so he wouldn't ask why Sora was at said abode. Except Sora felt uneasy about letting Leon free to ponder on why Sora was at Riku's house, so he had to tread carefully and tell him about why he was at Riku's house-without making it seem like he was telling Leon for any particular _reason_ and-

"My heat hurts."  
"Pardon?" Leon raised his head, unsure if he'd heard right.  
"Uh, nothing. I think I'm suffering through a sugar low." Sora fibbed, laughing it off nervously. "I'm going to get some water. Want anything?"  
"I'm fine."  
"'kay. Sora slowly got up from the floor, aware that his muscles would be somewhat sleepy from being locked in the same position . He collected the empty glasses and plate he'd brought with him and took them down to the kitchen.

Mrs. Hart-or rather, 'Elma', was in the kitchen with a steaming mug of something light colored and green. She looked up at his entrance and gave him a happy smile.

"How's it going up there?"  
"Not bad. We're almost ready to start working on the project itself." Despite his somewhat bleak, edgy mood, Sora managed a quirky smile. He really liked Elma-she was kind of her son's antithetical twin. Plus, she liked to cook which was a huge bonus in her favor. After all, Sora liked to eat.

Setting down his burden, Sora quickly washed out one glass and refilled it with water. The mindless task kept him occupied until he turned around to face Elma's appraising stare.

"…uhm."  
"Oh." She blinked. "I apologize. I was just thinking. You and my son could be related."  
Sora blinked back, startled. "What?" Then he thought about it. Dark brown hair? Check. Blue eyes? Check. Then he laughed. "I'm too short."

"No, not really. Leon used to be about your height at your age." Elma mused. "But that's just my musings. Do you two need anything else? I'm about to head off to bed."  
"No, thank you. We're fending off just fine." Sora raised his glass. "Well, goodnight. Thank you for letting me stay over and feeding me. It was yummy."  
"My pleasure." Elma beamed at him and patted his head when she passed by. Sora felt warmth inside him, as if he'd just had that chat with his own mother. He made a note to call his mother again after school and headed back up to Leon's room.

Sora opened the door and was about to embark in what he thought was a casual retelling of how he ended up living with Riku when he realized Leon… had fallen asleep. With his head resting on a curled up arm and pages of notes under him. At the sight, Sora stood still and finally laughed inaudibly.

As quietly as he could, he picked up the papers on the floor and set them on the table. The last thing he did before retreating into a guest room was flipping the lights off.

* * *

End chapter

* * *


End file.
